Is BC really that bad in terms of RN jobs?

[Teebee5]

As a BC NS I have seen numerous postings here about BC having no jobs available, or being frozen in terms of hiring.

This scares me a little, but also is confusing. While I was in my practicum placements, the coordinators talked about hiring and working at their hospital as part of ESN or even after grad.

So should I be looking at other provinces for employment, or is BC just hard for out of province RN's?

This seems insane to me that with all the RN shortages out there and the highly reported number of RN's set to retire or about too, that there are no available jobs in this province.

Can someone from BC shed some light, because I am a little nervous now about job oppurtunities in BC. I live in the lower mainland and was hoping to work in the lower mainland for both my ESN and after-grad nursing.

Thank you,

T.

[malibu_harlee]

In my experience, as a new grad from BC, yes it is. I applied to the lower mainland, all of interior BC, and a little up north. I had zero call backs. I applied ONCE to Alberta, and was hired on the spot in the interview. Although, I had an "in" here in Alberta since I have a friend who worked on the unit.

I moved here just over a week ago and a few days ago I got an e-mail from one of the authorities in the lower mainland asking about my current employment status and if I was still looking for a job. I wonder if they had an interview to offer me?

[Fiona59]

An interview does not equal a job offer, though.

[JohanneJF]

Hi there,

I don't think the situation is as dire as most people say it is. If you look at external job postings on the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the Fraser Health Authority web sites, there are tons of job postings for RN's. Obviously the unit managers want to hire someone with experience in the related field, and there are a lot of RN training schools in Vancouver alone which pump out approx. 60 graduates per school, maybe 2-3x/year. So obviously, there is a lot of competition, and the unit managers will hire those who fit best to the job description. The key is to apply for every posting that you come across that might interest you. Also, be persistent after the interview process...send a thank you note, a week after call them back and ask them how the hiring process is going. Yes, there's lots of changes going on in the health care system in BC, but RN jobs are still to be found!

:)

[hello123]

I would say YES, BC in the lower mainland is pretty crappy in terms of nursing jobs right now. I was told that a certain large teaching hospital that traditionally hired lots of new graduates is in an overhire situation right now and is displacing/reallocating staff internally from units that are overstaffed to units which are understaffed. That means only experienced nurses are getting these jobs and that most new grads are really out of luck. Funding to the health authorities are being cut left, right and center. A recent news article indicated that Langara College's latest graduating class of 70 students, only 12 found full-time work locally. The rest are casual or still looking. Hospitals prefer hiring experienced nurses in this type of market when funding is tight. Training new grads is time consuming and costly. There are way too many new grad nurses graduating from all these BSN nursing programs locally, and too few job openings. You may be better off looking anywhere but BC.

[ceridwyn]

It is a level playing ground, though if you have players from a certain team that you have played with before and have not lived up to your expectations, then from then on you are going to make sure that you work on some of their skills before you let them on the A team again, plain and simple look at your past players that went into bat have they lived up to the teams expectations or not?..... hasen't there been trouble before bringing nurses into Canada and letting them practice before the qualifying exam....then they could not pass it? and were not coping on the nursing playground?

You said yourself nurses from NZ and the UK sat the CRNE and passed it without any training except their own at home, and are just as brilliant nurses as well as you think nurses from your named countries are. If this was to change I am sure that all nurses from these countries would as well be joining you on the assessment bench 2 years later with student loans.

Look at past history for your answer. Also they may have inheritance rights in these countries being commonwealth and therefore have right to work immediately.

please excuse as I really have no right on this forum but the felt I had to bat for the kiwi's and poms....

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Just read some of the many threads posted on allnurses. It is terrible for new grads, and even experienced nurses all over Canada and the US. Howrver, people are still finding jobs. It may take some time, but they are out there. This involves persistence, networking, and flexibility. Most of my friends have jobs (new grads) who finished in june and october. Some of them (myself included) relocated.

[Fiona59]

Some nurses from the far east have always had issues with the way BC requires applicants to conform to the provincial rules.

A few years back, many nurses came to Canada as live in caregivers and then decided they wanted to work as RNs once they had arrived. Couple of problems there, their work permits were for caregivers (usually older people who had made the sponsorship arrangement with agencies who recruit caregivers). The issue was that they felt they didn't need to undergo language testing, skills assessment, etc. They even formed "action" groups in attempt to change the government's and the College's way of thinking. All it accomplished was ticking off the general public.

Like several other posters have said, Canadian nurses just can't up and go work in the EU, South America, Japan, the Phillipines, etc. We need to provide evidence that we can communicate and nurse.

North Americans and Europeans seem to be far more aware that the taxpayer is their employer and entitled to safe, informed and educated nursing care from nurses who all meet one standard.

[dollarman]

Hi to all, I just wanted to highlight again that I have nothing against any other IEns from wherever, UK or NZ or PHI. As I have said, in my opinion I would like to put on the blame on the regulatory body, NOT on my co-IENs. All of us are all equally great. Thanks! (",)

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Hi to all, I just wanted to highlight again that I have nothing against any other IEns from wherever, UK or NZ or PHI. As I have said, in my opinion I would like to put on the blame on the regulatory body, NOT on my co-IENs. All of us are all equally great. Thanks! (",)

However, you have quite bluntly accused the regulatory bodies of being racist, when they are actually not. They don't care where the applicant comes from or what colour or religion they are, the applicants ALL have to meet the same standard as locally-educated nurses and the process of determining that takes as long as it takes. Do you honestly think someone from CRNBC has been assigned to pull all applications from Asians and drop them into a box in the back room? Because that's what your post suggested you think. Perhaps the delay truly originates in your own country, from whence the necessary documentation must come. Maybe they're the ones who have shoved your application under the blotter.

[just4]

However, you have quite bluntly accused the regulatory bodies of being racist, when they are actually not. They don't care where the applicant comes from or what colour or religion they are, the applicants ALL have to meet the same standard as locally-educated nurses and the process of determining that takes as long as it takes. Do you honestly think someone from CRNBC has been assigned to pull all applications from Asians and drop them into a box in the back room? Because that's what your post suggested you think. Perhaps the delay truly originates in your own country, from whence the necessary documentation must come. Maybe they're the ones who have shoved your application under the blotter.

My citizenship is not Canadian and the country in which I was educated is neither Canada nor the country of my birth. I have had a "limited" Quebec license for a couple of years because I have not pushed myself to learn French. I applied to the CRNBC for a license. It took a month for Quebec OIIQ to confirm I hold a Quebec license and even then it took an angry request to have it faxed (they make nurses pay almost 50$ for that "service"). Anyway, 3 days later CRNBC granted me a FULL license. This is one of the many reasons to move west...

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I've read many posts describing how someone relocated and cannot find work for months. In this economy, that makes no sense. It's better to have an offer in writing first, then move. I also relocated, but there is no way I would move anywhere and pay for a license without the job. Unless the move was back to my home Province.