Canadian Nurses out there?

luilui_604, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2006

HI! i'm a Canadian Nurse =) Congrats on your NCLEX! I'm not in Torrance but in San Francisco....sorry, i can't give you any information but i just wanted to say HELLO =)

STFXNurse · Sep 5, 2006

Thanks for the reply!

How long have you nursed in California? Do you like it? What part of nursing are you in?

luilui_604, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2006

I've been a labor and delivery nurse for 14 months, and prior to that, i worked in neurosciences for 9 months in canada :) I absolutely love san francisco, but i've been feeling homesick for the past week. I am ready to go back home to my family and fiance next year :) Where in Canada are you from?

STFXNurse · Sep 6, 2006

Hey, thanks for the fast reply!

I am from Nova Scotia and just graduated in may from St.FX. I am wondering how long you've been working for. Did you find experience in Canadian really benefited you in the transition to the states?

Where are you from? Do you like nursing in California and is the US medical system hard to get use to?

Thanks for all the helpful tips!

luilui_604, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2006

Hi,

I'm from Vancouver, and nursing in California is great because they have 5:1 patient to nurse ratio, which helps promote safe nursing care. This doesn't apply to L&D because our patient ratio is usually 1:1 care. I think i had more confidence as an RN with the extra work experience in Canada. But since I entered into a specialty grad program in the US, they provided me with 3 months preceptorship experience. In terms of differences in the medical systems, there were a couple things that I needed to get used to...for example, charging patients on the pxis for medical supplies. In Canada, you could just grab and go with the supplies :) These are little things that i found apparent...but otherwise, the hospital i work at has high standards of nursing care and ethics. So to answer your question, I had an easy transition. Which state do you plan to work in?

STFXNurse · Sep 6, 2006

Hello there!

I am actually planning on going to California too! Torrance Ca, which is on the coast as well. The hospital I am being hired at is realitively small and use to teaching. I also have a 3 month orientation: 18, 12hr shift preceptorship mixed in with classroom time. I am going to be working on a medical cardiology floor with telemetry. It looks like a VERY fancy hospital compared to what I'm use to in little ol' Nova Scotia. But I'm sure it will be an adventure. I am going with 2 other friends that I graduated with.

I am very excited to be around palm tress and sunshine!