Outpost Nursing

World International

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Hello. Just wondering what types of questions would be likely asked in an job interview for outpost nursing?

Any nurses out there doing outpost nursing right now. I'd like to hear from them.

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I have done some agency work in outposts. The questions you will likely be asked is how well do you work independently, how do you feel about living in an isolated area, how well do you work under stress and how do you feel about being on call all night??

Out post nursing is not for the faint of heart but can be extremely rewarding.

Good luck

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Thanx for the reply. Well, I guess its always the unexpected eh? Whats agency nursing? I've met some nurses who I have worked with in a Nursing Station and they were agency nurses. One nurse was saying she works all over Canada for weeks at a time.

Eventually, I'd like to work either in Nunuvat or NWT.

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Agency nurses work for a staffing agency that staffs not only outposts but also hospitals. It is the same as travel nursing where you sign a contract to work for a set period of time, say weeks or months, it usually pays well but comes with much fewer benefits than working for the hospital or, in the case of outposts, for Health Canada. You do need to have nursing experience, preferably ICU or ER to work in this setting as an agency nurse.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
Agency nurses work for a staffing agency that staffs not only outposts but also hospitals. It is the same as travel nursing where you sign a contract to work for a set period of time, say weeks or months, it usually pays well but comes with much fewer benefits than working for the hospital or, in the case of outposts, for Health Canada. You do need to have nursing experience, preferably ICU or ER to work in this setting as an agency nurse.

This isn't totally true. I worked for an agency as a new grad in the mid-90's when we new nurses couldn't even get arrested. I did private duty pediatric home care and staff relief on a sort of casual or PRN basis, with no set schedule, and every shift I worked was at a different place. They called me at all hours of the day and night, they called me several times in the same day, they sent me into situations I was not qualified to deal with and I hated every minute of it. And the pay was pathetic. They charged the client about $10 an hour more for my services than they paid me, and I was making several dollars an hour less than the hospital-based nurses I was working beside.

Some agencies do have contracts with federal or provincial authorities for provision of outpost staff on a rotating basis, and in a sense that's similar to travel nursing, but Canada doesn't have travel nursing in the same form that the US has. Nurses here do not parachute into a hospital ICU for a six month assignment, for example. I can't think of a single hospital anywhere in Canada that has that sort of arrangement.

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Your right, there does not seem to be travel nursing in hospitals in Canada as in the US. I meant travel nursing in the context of outpost nursing in that you sign a contract for a set amount of weeks, receive benefits such as travel to and from your assignment, accomodation and in some cases food allowance.

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Thank you for the replies. I am planning to make my way up north for orientation in a isolated nursing station. :):roll

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Good luck Rosie!

Give us an update and let us know how you like it.

LA

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