IEN in BC cannot find a job

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Nov 17, 2009

A year ago there was a high demand for nurses in BC. Then the province carried out some aggressive offshore recruiting to fill the vacancies. Then the bottom fell out of the economy, the province sucked back a whole bunch of money from the health care budget and a lot of those vacancies disappeared. It will probably take at least two years for things to start turning around. Unfortunately it's very likely that you're not going to find a nursing job in Canada any time soon. You may have to look at alternatives.

qveronica · Nov 21, 2009

hi

did you try all the agencies? did u find casual or anything per diem etc

did u find easy a house in Vancouver ? sorry for this situation which specialty do u have?

kind regards

Hello All
I just wondering that anyone experienced like me or just me. I am IEN and live in Vancouver. I have been looking for a job for 3 months now. Unfortunately, all I heard was there was no position. I understand that there is high demand for nurse in BC. Anybody has any idea or suggestion for me. I am so desperated right now.
Thanks

keeshaBC · Nov 21, 2009

Thanks qveronica ,yes I applied hospitals, nursing facility and agency but stuck with requirement of 250 hrs temporary license. I just a med-surg nurse.

qveronica · Nov 21, 2009

hi,

than do these 250 hrs(how many days means?) and go ahead or also this is impossible to do because nobody wants to accept an IEN doing for free these hours? did u pass the registration exam? for how long are there in Vancouver. this scares me too because soon I will come there to start this battle. I know is so hard do you have somebody there to help or to advise you? be strong please don't give up. :up:

regards

Thanks qveronica ,yes I applied hospitals, nursing facility and agency but stuck with requirement of 250 hrs temporary license. I just a med-surg nurse.

swala · Nov 21, 2009

Are You sure that there are no jobs in BC??? I am from India & planning to come to vancouver as an RN.Please let me know in advance if i have to face hardship, coming there....

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Nov 21, 2009

hi,
than do these 250 hrs(how many days means?) and go ahead or also this is impossible to do because nobody wants to accept an IEN doing for free these hours? did u pass the registration exam? for how long are there in Vancouver. this scares me too because soon I will come there to start this battle. I know is so hard do you have somebody there to help or to advise you? be strong please don't give up.
regards

Those 250 hours are not "free". They're paid supervised practice with an employer before your registration is complete. It amounts to about 6 weeks of full time work during which your practice is assessed and any issues identified and addressed. So if you do not have an employer, you cannot complete the 250 hours.

Are You sure that there are no jobs in BC??? I am from India & planning to come to vancouver as an RN.Please let me know in advance if i have to face hardship, coming there....

The nursing shortage in BC is still there but the vacancies are not being filled. Alberta's even more austere hiring freeze has caused a number of very experienced nurses from here to move to BC, and MANY Alberta new grads to do so as well. Saskatchewan has also benefited from Alberta's disastrous human resources policies. It's much simpler and more cost-efficient to hire a Canadian from another province than it is to hire from off-shore where there are many more bureaucratic hurdles to surmount. A quick look at the various health regions' career boards shows very few permanent full time non-specialized nursing positions; most are casual positions which are not suitable for IENs. In fact, this is happening pretty much across the country. The provinces that are most attractive to IENs (BC, Alberta and Ontario) are essentially closed for business. How long this will last is anybody's guess.

keeshaBC · Nov 21, 2009

hi,
than do these 250 hrs(how many days means?) and go ahead or also this is impossible to do because nobody wants to accept an IEN doing for free these hours? did u pass the registration exam? for how long are there in Vancouver. this scares me too because soon I will come there to start this battle. I know is so hard do you have somebody there to help or to advise you? be strong please don't give up.
regards

Hi all

I already passed CRNE. Thank Janfrn for explanation. It's true that BC still need a lot of nurses. However, the one who has more experience will get priority with leaving interim permit like me hanging in the air. Just keep my finger cross and wish this situation will get better soon. :cry:

keeshaBC · Nov 21, 2009

Are You sure that there are no jobs in BC??? I am from India & planning to come to vancouver as an RN.Please let me know in advance if i have to face hardship, coming there....

Hi

I have a link here from BCNU web-site telling us about cutting back funding effected in many area in BC.

You will see why competition so high for IEN and the whole picture of health care before consideration your moving.

Let just hope it not too long.

http://www.bcnu.org/campaigns_issues/pdfs/hc_cuts_what_we_know.pdf

linzz · Nov 22, 2009

The same thing is going on here in Ontario. The provincial government is not funding hospitals as they had previously so many positions may be left unfilled.

keeshaBC · Nov 24, 2009

Hi Dishes

Thank you for your PM. I couldn't reply as PM but hope you get this message.

Believe it or not? I recently graduated from the program that you recommend.

I recently talked to some of my classmates and they are struggling as well, not even one third of us get hired. It must be a wrong time to graduate but I will keep hunting and take any possibilities that come up. :nurse:

van777 · Nov 25, 2009

hi KeeshaBC,,,i am under the same situation like you... maybe we can talk more and get some supports from each other..