Need info,anyone can tell??

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 14, 2008

Nursing licenses in Canada are renewed annually. The registration fee is somewhere between $350 and $488.60 per year. The College of Nurses of Ontario fees are $122.66, but I believe that the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is responsible for many of the functions of the regulatory bodies in other provinces regarding nursing practice, education, public collaboration and liaison with the Canadain Nurses Association. So to avail oneself of all the services available through the Colleges in all other provinces, nurses in Ontario need both CNO and RNAO memberships, at a net cost of $387.66. (My Ontario colleagues are free to correct me, since I'm interpreting and not absolutely sure I'm on the right road.) My Alberta practice permit cost $381.60 for the practice year ending September 30, 2008. I'm reimbursed $100 by my employer after working more than 685 hours in the current practice year. Nurses in Saskatchewan are reimbursed in full, as are those nurses covered by the Professional Institute of the Public Service and employed by the federal government.

kitty catt · Jan 15, 2008

Thank you for your reply. Do you know any nusing system differences between US and Canada?? I saw the wage for nurse in Canada starts from $26 in canadian nurses foram.All the provinces are the same?? Is it RN?or LPN?? Any info would be appreciated. Thank you.

Fiona59 · Jan 15, 2008

But don't forget that the fees are a tax deductible expense...

loriangel14, RN · Jan 15, 2008

From what I have seen there are many differences in the nursing system.All provinces have RNs and I believe they all have LPNs except for BC and Ontario, which have RPNs(Registered Practical Nurses),which is similiar to LPNs but I think the education is slightly different (correct me if I am wrong). Also some provinces call their Registered Phychiatric Nurses RPNs. Provinces such as BC and Ontario have eliminated the diploma RN programs and require a degree for initial licensure now. I am in Ontario and have seen RN jobs starting at $28, I am an RPN and my first job started at $23.27.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 15, 2008

You can find a summary and comparison of wages and benefits province by province at this link:

http://www.nursesunion.mb.ca/pdf%20files/CFNU_ContComp(12-17-07).pdf

kitty catt · Jan 15, 2008

Thank you for your info.I really appreciated. Nurses in Canada can get bounus??RNs in canada work 5days a week??Most of new grad Registered nurses get paid from $28/hour anywhere in Ontario?? Any info would be appreciated.

Fiona59 · Jan 15, 2008

In BC an LPN is an LPN. It is only Ontario that calls them RPNs. Each province educates slightly differently, BUT all graduates of a PN programme are required to write the Canadian PN exam. The exam requires that all graduates, regardless of their province of education to meet a minimum standard of education.

The title RPN is used for Reg. Psych. Nurses in BC, AB, Sask, and Manitoba.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 15, 2008

Unionized nurses (most of us) in Canada do not get bonuses unless the the bonus is part of a contract negotiation. In Alberta we recently ratified a contract that gives each full time nurse a "market adjustment payment" of $750 twice a year (prorated for equivalent to full time for the part time nurses) to help with the skyrocketing cost of living here. Nurses who work for private business (doctors' offices, stand-alone surgical facilities, insurance companies) will get bonuses if their employer sees fit to provide them.

RNs don't work the classic 5 day week unless they work in a clinic, as a rule. Most of us work shift work and many of us work 12 hour shifts. Twenty 12 hour shifts over a six week period is full time and includes weekends, holidays and nights.

Did the chart I pointed you to say that grad nurses in Ontario are paid $28 an hour? Actually, graduate nurses (those who have graduated from nursing school but who are not yet licensed) in Ontario are paid whatever is negotiated at the local level. That means that each hospital or facility will decide their own pay rates for GNs. Nurses in their first year of licensure in Ontario will start at $26.80 (page 2 of the comparison) unless they've been given credit for hours worked in another jurisdiction (which involves obtaining documentary proof of those hours).

As I said, most nurses in Canada are unionized. Provincial union contracts are very detailed and explicit about rights, responsibilities, hours of work, wages and benefits and for the most part are the same for all nurses province wide. Anyone who chooses to work in a position that is not covered by the provincial agreement

negotiates all of that on their own. Pay and benefits are generally much lower than for union facilities. Doctors' offices may pay $10 less per hour and only offer basic benefits. Private agencies charge facilities much more than the facility pays their own nurses and then pays the agency nurses much less. When I worked for an agency (1995) they charged the hospital I often worked at as staff relief $25 an hour for my work then paid me $14, when at the time union nurses I was working side by side with were being paid $18 and getting shift differentials (more money for evenings, nights and weekends). I wasn't too happy with THAT arrangement!

kitty catt · Jan 15, 2008

I see.Thank you for your info. Compare to US,living cost is much lower right?? How long does it take to get license after graduate??Exams are only multiple choices?? After they get license,hospitals pay $26/hour for new grads?? and like how much you'll get promoted earnings per hour annually?? Also in Canada,when you work on holidays or overtime,you'll get double paid right?? In canada,what is the benefits for nurses?? I heard nuses in some hospitsls can get bounus each certain period like if you work 500 hrs on the period,you'll get $500 bounus.You don't have that kind of benefits for nurse in Canada?? any info would be appreciated.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 16, 2008

Compare to US,living cost is much lower right??

No, not so you'd notice. Taxes are considerably higher, to pay for social programs. Rents in major cities are climbing all the time; in Edmonton and Calgary they're well over $1000 a month for a two bedroom apartment. Small homes for sale in many markets cost more than $300,000. Utility costs can be high; Canada is a cold country where central heating eats up $several thousand a year. Groceries are costly because of the transportation involved in getting them to the market.

How long does it take to get license after graduate??

The Canadian Registered Nurse Exam is written in February, June and October. It takes from four to six weeks to get the results (within Canada) and then another several weeks to have your license in your hand. A person graduating from a Canadian university in April will usually have their license by mid August.

Exams are only multiple choices??

For the time being the exams are multiple choice but will have the short-answer questions reinstated probably in 2010.

After they get license,hospitals pay $26/hour for new grads??

Yes, in Ontario (Ontario Nurses' Association or ONA). The cross-country comparison I pointed you to tells you what the starting rate of pay is for each province and territory, and I've actually answered that question already in my post above.

and like how much you'll get promoted earnings per hour annually??

Each province has different requirements for pay increments, based on hours worked. A full time nurse can usually expect a pay raise annually to the next step on the pay scale. Those rates will change when a new contract is negotiated; the cross-country comparison includes the expiry date of each provincial and territorial contract. Ontario's collective agreement expires March 31 of this year.

Also in Canada,when you work on holidays or overtime,you'll get double paid right??

That information is also in the cross-country comparison. Page 38 has the overtime provisions for Ontario; page 40 has the statutory holiday premiums. The only time nurses in Ontario get double time is when they work overtime on a statutory holiday; the rest of the time they get time and a half.

In canada,what is the benefits for nurses??

Again, each province is different... as explained in the cross-country comparison. There are varying provisions for continuing education, maternity leave, sick leave, vacations, extended health/dental/vision care, life and disability insurance and pensions.

I heard nuses in some hospitsls can get bounus each certain period like if you work 500 hrs on the period,you'll get $500 bounus.You don't have that kind of benefits for nurse in Canada??

No, we don't. Those kinds of bonuses are typically received by "travelers" and other nurses in the US. As I explained before, the only bonuses the majority of hospital nurses in Canada will receive are those negotiated in a collective agreement.

Please take another look at the cross-country comparison. Read the first few pages to help you understand the rest of the information. It's really very clearly presented. http://www.nursesunion.mb.ca/pdf%20files/CFNU_ContComp(12-17-07).pdf

kitty catt · Jan 17, 2008

Thank you so much for your info,janfrn. I really appreciated.