RN training in Edmoton transfering to Illinois

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I was born and raised in Chicago but i am getting married this summer and am moving to Edmonton. i will be studying nursing at U of A or Grant MacEwan College. Im wondering how different canadian nursing is from the States. Will i easily be able to transfer back to illinois someday if we move back?

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

We have nursing assistants and employed nursing students at our hospitals here. The ENS classification basically starts off doing NA type work and as they progress through their education are given more responsibility and more opportunity to practice their newly acquired skills. ENS pay is about $10 an hour less than a first year graduate nurse and they are covered by the same collective agreement as nurses. I can't speak to whether they are employed on labor and delivery units, but there are nursing assistants for sure. As Fiona said, midwifery in Alberta is still developing into a specialty area. I expect that over time it will be sorted out, but not for the foreseeable future.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Psych..

I am a graduate from Grant MacEwan....I love my college. I got the best clinical experience which I am using here in California. I have worked with many California student nurses here...I feel that we spent more time in a clinical setting than the students are spending here in California. I used to do my clinical one month at a time and mostly hands on training but here the students do there cinical once or twice a week.

Everything is almost the same, the only thing I had to get used to was charging the patient for little things like gauges, soap so on and also the concept of HMO, PPO, Medical....plus the different types of narcotics....they use alot narcotis here!!!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Psych..

Sorry one more comment....when I was going through my nursing training I worked as a psych aide at Alberta Hospital of Edmonton....I did not need any courses or certification then but I am not sure if its changed....if you are planning to study in Edmonton you can try working there....its not scary at all....it gave me some extra money plus some hands on experience before I became a RN:)

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Alberta Hospital has started hiring PNs so I'm not sure how many Psych Aides they still utilize. Also, unless you live in the north end of the city, it's an awful drive for most people.

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wow thank you all so much. this is gold! such helpful information. i have felt so lost trying to figure out what to do next year. its hard since i have only been to edmonton once or twice. thank you for your help... and keep the suggestions coming if you think of anything else....

about how much would i make as a nursing assistant in the hospital?

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Not so much, I'm afraid. The current range is $13.48 to $16.40 ($16.90 at the University). That's NOT enough to live on... I hope your fiance makes good money!

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haha well, thankfully he does. i will be working more because i want to.

ok one more question... i think...

is it possible to get an associates degree in nursing in alberta? im wondering if there is a shorter nursing program than the 4 year BSN degree... im going on to midwifery and i am wondering if i can speed up the process by doing a shorter nursing program.

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In a nutshell, NOPE. The last diploma class has started and will graduate in 2009.

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wow... just missed it eh? dang. ok thanks

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