How's the job prospective? I heard there is a hiring freeze

[mrnursing]

I'm in Ontario, and I hear from some of the nurses that the hospitals are in a hiring freeze mode right now.

I'm very nervous as one of my reason for becoming a nurse is that I've thought that there is a lot of opportunities and job stability.

I've seen ad posters of "RN needed" all over the subway last year.

Why is there a hiring freeze then???

[linzz]

Good point, Fiona59, things really have changed even in the past six months. I do suspect people will try to move around for a while looking for jobs but it will be felt everywhere eventually. I do hope things get better soon.

[katherine100, LPN]

Not sure where Fiona works but in 25 years that I have worked in hospital nursing ..

This if off topic but i cannot find anyone I can ask. Since you mentioned you worked in Ontario, I have a question about it. Has technology improved? Do you have Dynamaps to do your vitals? Do you have computers to enter vitals, or assessments,etc. I want to know how nursing technology has changed since I was last in Ontario.

[Fiona59]

Well, Steven rarely posts, so you'll need lori or linzz to answer your questions about Ontario.

But yes, we have electronic BP, SaO2 monitors (can't recall our brand), some sites use Pyxis, and some do electronic charting. It all depends on the region. And yes, we even have smart (no so smart really) pumps.

[linzz]

Most hospitals and LTC's have computer charting, SaO2 monitors, electronic BP, hospitals have Pyxis but most LTC's that I have seen are still doing a manual count with the oncoming nurse doing the counting and the leaving nurse doing the recording.

Some hospitals, I have heard, have a scanning type system to prevent med errors but not all hospitals. Ontario was on it's way to having an electronic health record for every person in Ontario but the provincial government blew all the money for that. You can do a google search to find out about that one.

I don't really know how this compares to the U.S.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

But yes, we have electronic BP, SaO2 monitors (can't recall our brand), some sites use Pyxis, and some do electronic charting. It all depends on the region. And yes, we even have smart (no so smart really) pumps.

Our oximeters are usually Nellcor or Massimo if they're stand-alones; we have an assortment of cardiorespiratory monitors with the majority of them being either HP or Phillips. Our Smart Pumps are really very stupid... Alaris from Cardinal Health. I understand the rationale for having to enter a user ID into the pump controller, but it's a huge hassle in the ICU where we're changing rates all the time while covered from head to toe with a yellow gown.

[Fiona59]

Yup, gotta love those yellow iso gowns. You can't even scan your badge through it, so you have to enter your ID each and every time. Rumour has it, you can scan the barcode on the kleenex boxes and it'll work. Never had the time to actually try it. We know it's to track who does what, where.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Kleenex box, granola bar, 2X2, anything with a barcode will work... One of our former ICU/anaesthesia fellows used to scan whatever was handy.

[Fiona59]

Yup, it was a gasman that told me that as well. lol

[fenders]

For those asking about current technologies in Ontario, I am a RN but was also a network administraor/analyst/Y2k consultant before getting my RN for about 10 years for several Toronto hospitals.

One of the hospitals I worked in on the east end of toronto was the first to implement BMDI (bedisde management device interface aka inet) designed by Cerner (also known for powerchart). We installed it in our ICU and it allowed ventilator and vitals to be automatically updated into each rooms worksation and onto the servers. Was also just starting to implement emar (electronic medication administration). SOme pretty cool stuff I got to work with.

I found the smaller comunity hospitals were a little more technologically advanced probably because they do alot of community based fundraising.

Only problem is the smaller hospitals are trying to lay off RN's and create teams of assisstants with just one RN per shift.

[katherine100, LPN]

Nova Scotia. No hiring freeze. We need tons of nurses!

What is nursing in NS like? Do you guys do any charting of any kind on computer? Do you use Dynamaps for vitals? I am thinking about returning.