Nursing in Alberta

[UK_RN_AJ]

Hi all

I am a UK Staff nurse currently working within an emergency department in the UK with a view to move to Canada within the next year or so, I have sent all my applications away and am currently waiting to see if I need to complete the SEC assessment before applying for my exams. I hope to be working in Alberta looking at Edmonton and Calgary at the moment and am hoping to stay within emergency medicine.

Here in the UK as a staff nurse within the emergency department we carry out standard nursing roles such as assessment, medications, IV therapy and so on. Also as part of my role in the UK we take on extended roles such as taking of bloods, insertion of Intravenous access lines, Male catherisation, Taking of ABG's from A Lines and Radial artery. We can also work up to insertion of ET tubes, running of crash calls as advanced life support graduates ( I believe its ACLS in Canada) and so on.

My question is within emergency departments in Alberta do nurses carry out these roles and if not are they able to learn them within their role.

Thanks in advance :)

[Fiona59]

Depends on the Emergency.

Inserting foleys into males and females is considered a basic nursing skill over here and heaven help the nurse who can't cath a male.

Emerg is much sought after specialty and usually goes to nurses with in-house experience.

Up here in Edmonton, there has been a lot of casual hires with no guaranteed hours. There is a push to hire more LPNs for the ERs due to cost effectiveness.

[UK_RN_AJ]

Thanks for the reply

"Emerg is much sought after specialty and usually goes to nurses with in-house experience."

Yeah I do understand that its much the same in the UK, internal is more sought after than external, I am hoping to buff up my portfolio before coming over by doing some extra courses such as a ACLS and TNCC which I believe I can do in Ireland as they follow the US/Canada Model and from what I understand can be transferred to Canada, I have already completed the ATLS. So fingers crossed.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

You may need to think about relocating to a smaller town or city in AB for emergency. Calgary and Edmonton are very competitive. Not saying it won't happen for you in those cities, but as an IEN you have more hoops to jump through and AHS is currently making budget cuts again. Good luck!

[Fiona59]

The way Edmonton is going, brush up on the care of GSWs, stabbings, and ODs.

[nursesmarty]

I am new to this site and still learning my way around...Can anyone direct me on how to obtain a nursing license in Canada? I am an RN in the USA and would love to experience nursing in Calgary...How difficult is the process of licensure for US nurses?

[loriangel14, RN]

You need to contact the college of nurses in the province in which you want to work. They will instruct you on how to go about applying for licensure.They will assess your education and experience to determine if you meet their requirements to be eligible to write the CRNE.Be prepared for a long process. Many have reported processing times of 1-2 years.You will also need to sort out what kind of visa you will apply for.Right now they are not accepting any visa applications. You have to wait until it reopens in 2013.

[nursesmarty]

Wow that's a really long time! Do you know where I would apply for a visa in 2013 or should I wait until my application has been processed? Im very discouraged now

[UK_RN_AJ]

As far as I am aware, applying for your registration in Canada through the provincial board is the first step, which in Alberta is CARNA, this involves lots of paper work ,and for most people this involves a SEC ASSESSMENT and then taking the CRNE EXAM. Once this is completed then you can apply for jobs. It is a l long process and can involve extra training and lots of paper work.

From there there are two options from what I can work out , firstly apply for a temporary workers permit which permits you to work for six months with options to extend or apply for permanent residence from within Canada. Or you can go for a full immigration process under the FSW Program which I believe is not open again till 2013.

If I'm wrong on this please correct me .

[Fiona59]

Canadian governing bodies for nurses are COLLEGES.

If nursesmarty is an American citizen they probably qualify for a NAFTA visa. If they aren't an American national that's a whole other kettle of fish. We see a lot of IENs posting that they are US RNs but in reality they have never worked in the US or hold US immigrant papers.

The point nobody has really made is there is no active offshore recruiting drives for nurses right now (unless they are extremely specialized).

Un and underemployment of existing nurses is rampant across the country.

AHS has promised to hire most of the next couple of years graduating classes for RNs and LPNs. They are also looking at increasing the part time nurses position sizes for those who want an increase in an attempt to eliminate the reliance on the casual staff.

Ontario is having huge problems with nurses not finding work. BC isn't much better. Northern/outpost nursing isn't for newcomers.

It's a terrible job market right now, with no real easing up for the next couple of years. Provincial governments are tightening the purse strings and wanting that healthcare dollar squeezed until it squeaks.

[loriangel14, RN]

Yes Fiona is right. The big issue is the scarcity of jobs.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Generally, everyone hopes to settle in the major cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax. That isn't where the majority of the jobs are. Fiona is correct...Canada is also facing the tail end of this global recession. Many Canadian nurses are underemployed, and there is no recruitment for IEN's, including American nurses at the moment. The processing will take time, and if you are serious about working, there are jobs in rural areas, not the cities (in huge numbers).