Canadian Nurses in France

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery & ICU.

Hello!

I am a Canadian RN and I've recently been toying with the idea of living in France.

I was wondering if anyone here can tell me what it's like from a Canadian RNs point of view. How does the work compare? What about the health care system? Is it more/less socialized than our system here in Canada? Is the scope of practice similar? I've heard rumours about a limited scope in Europe. True or false?

Is it a comfortable salary?

Exactly how fluent would I need to be in French. I can speak some and I have a good foundation to build on, but French medical terminology scares me. Does anyone know of any good online courses in this?

And possibly my most important question, how do I even get started in the process of nursing overseas?? Is there a separate RN exam for me to write?

Thank you so much for any help/advice you can give me!!!

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Hi there,

I moved from France to take my nursing in Canada and my mom was a nurse in France.

The practice is not the same at all. You don't have a lot of responsabilities. My mom was working night shifts only on a surgical unit and had 14 patients by herself, no assistant. That was a small unit but the unit she was working on before that, she had 36 patients with one nursing assistant (12 patients each on days).

I know it sounds impossible, which is why I would never work as a nurse there as if I was to get sick there, I would want to get transfered back here.

About the scope of practice, you would only use your stethoscope to take a blood pressure or make sure an NG is still where it is suppose to be but you would not use it to assess the lungs, you can but if something is wrong and you notify the physician he is going to tell you that you are just a nurse and don't know anything!!!

Nurses have no rights to say anything (because they are just nurses!) and the patients have no right to say anything either because the physicians are gods!

Regarding the salary, I would not say it is comfortable because the COL is very high there. When I was a grad nurse, I was making as much as my mom is France after 30+ years just before she retired.

A few years back, a lot of spanish nurses went to work to France. I don't know how fluent they were in french but I know that it was not a success for them. Lots of them went back to Spain because of the bad working conditions.

For your question: "And possibly my most important question, how do I even get started in the process of nursing overseas?? Is there a separate RN exam for me to write?"

Sorry, I don't know much about that except that the government is responsible to recognize your training and you would have to call the ddass (direction départementale des Affaires sanitaires et sociales).

I think there is an exam at the end of the nursing program so nurses get a diploma from the state but there is no nursing board, no license.

France is a beautiful country but it needs to change a lot.

May be you could look into working in Switzerland?

I don't know exactly how good it is but I know it is better than France.

Good luck!

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You will be required to pass their language exam in French as well as their licensing exam. That would be the first thing that would need to be done.

There are several links on this forum for the requirements for working there, they also have a hiring freeze in place if you do not hold a EU passport. As well as the other members of the EU. Unless you have skills in an area that they have a shortage of, it is going to be quite difficult at this time to get licensed there as well as a visa that will permit you to work there.

All of their government links are 100% in french.

Best of luck to you.

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Specializes in listed above.

I know your response was over a year old, but I'm inquiring into working as an RN in France, as well. I believe I can work in France since I have dual american/italian citizenship, but have an american nursing license. Do the French require coursework for non EU diplomas, in addition to passing both the language and nursing exams? Do you also know what types of nurses are most in demand in the Paris area?

Thanks for any help.

Mark

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