Maternity/neo-natal RN

Fiona59 · Apr 12, 2012

OK, have you been hired as a casual yet?

Usually you are hired on as a casual by a service, ie: Surgery, Medicine, Womens Health. After orientation, it depends on your availability and the units needs. It's either feast or famine when it comes to the specialties. You have to remember part time staff pick up extra shifts to bring them up to full time hours and then any unfilled hours are allocated to the casuals. So, to ensure a decent income you have to be available for any shift and not restrict yourself to days.

When you say you have specialized in maternity/nicu do you have additional qualifications?

jem649 · Apr 13, 2012

Thanks for the reply fiona59. I was simply trying to gauge how much work I could get as casual with maternity or neo-natal speciality. I am willing to work anywhere in the lower mainland, on any day of the week/month once I graduate next year. Would a new graduate be able to secure a part time or term certain position right away?& can I be on call at the other hospitals at the same time? would you say $50k/year is a decent estimate for a fresh graduate, with no restrictions on days/hours of availability?

I did my LPN 4 years ago, & my loans have really piled up!...just wondering if I could take up LPN work too after RNBsN degree?

Thanks again.

jen

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 13, 2012

Working casual means no guaranteed hours--you can work full time one week, and have nothing lined up for the next three weeks. It doesn't matter where you work as a casual in terms of specialty--the principle of working casual is the same in all hospitals. When there is a shift that needs to be filled, the staff with regular lines (full time or part time) are called first...if after all the staff with regular lines are called and the shift remains open, then they will call the casual lines. First person to say yes gets the shift.

You may be able to work anywhere, any day, any time, but you still need to get hired by someone in order to do that. I'm from Vancouver myself, and I was unale to secure any kind of positions with any of the 6 Health Authorities in BC. I would say that while it is possible to secure a part time/regular position upon graduation, it is the exception, not the norm. Getting hired into a casual line is what new grads are experiencing...and even so, with the Lower Mainland being saturated with new grads, there aren't very many opportunities for new grad.

Yes you will be able to be on call for more than one hospital/Health Authority, provided that you indicate that upon being hired. However, like I said, it is difficult in getting your toe in the door, so just be realistic when you do graduate next year. There may be a nursing shortage promised by the media, but there sure isn't one when you apply for jobs as a new grad.

Money wise...$50K is decent, but nobody can estimate how much you'll make without a secured position. And remember, casuals don't have guaranteed hours, so you really don't know how much you can make per pay period...so hard to estimate the actual amount of take home pay that a casual will make in any given year.

If you can move out of the city, get a job in rural. More job oppotunities, and they are often in need for nurses to work a regular line there. With some experience, you should be able to get a job in the specialty that you want.

Best of luck.

jem649 · Apr 15, 2012

Thanks for that MPKH...very insightful, & a good heads-up!..guess I won't be giving up my restaurant server job anytime soon. The nursing shortage is "somewhat" of a myth, as you say, ie if one wants regular hours of work. And community health would be even tougher to break into, given the more favourable hours of work, I guess.

I just called the extended health place I used to work for after my LPN, & they will not hire me even on casual basis as LPN, once I get my RN! not that I'm asking for higher wages. Would that be a usual thing for an employer to do?

thanks again

jen

MPKH, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2012

I don't think you will be able to work as a LPN after you get your RN licence, so that could be a reason why your prior employer do not want to hire you.

All specialties are hard to get into as a new grad... Unless you have connections (this guy in my class got a part time public health RN job because his wife knew the right connections) or you lucked out, did your final practicum in a highly specialized area, and made a good impression (which is how several people in my class landed themselves in the specialty they want).

Maybe the market will be better when you graduate, maybe it won't. So my advice to you is to not be too picky with the nursing area and workplace location. If you can't find a job in maternity/neonatal, branch out. If you can't get an offer in the lower mainland, try elsewhere. Apply everywhere and anywhere...do not pigeon hole yourself to one area of nursing and one location. You may have to start in an area thats not your "dream job" or work in a less than desirable location.