Jobs in calgary, ab...any to be had

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Hello all,

I live in winnipeg, been an RN for 2 1/2 yrs and recently applied for my license in Alberta. Haven't heard anything yet and now I hear there is a freeze on hiring :s

So anyone have an idea if I will get my license processed? And if I do, do I have a chance of getting a job? Specifically in calgary...

Specializes in geriatrics.

The hiring freeze will affect all health care workers, especially those who are external to AHS.

Specializes in Home Care.

I'm an LPN and I do not work for AHS.

There's also a hiring freeze on LPNs.

The CLPNA website has job listings for non-AHS positions but there's not much on that job board either.

Its not a good time for nurses in Alberta.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Just to identify the issues the OP asked about: registration and employment. They are separate from each other. CARNA/CLPNA will definitely assess your credentials and provide you with registration; they don't care if people have employment since they're not in the business of employing nurses other than the few who work directly for them. They aren't particularly worried if you have a pay cheque, as long as you are paying them their fees. (Well, they DO care about employment in a way, because there is a minimum required number of hours of practice a nurse must perform in order to remain registered, but there are lots of ways of meeting those without actually having a paying job.)

The OP said s/he has an interview with a not-for-profit. That would be separate and exempt from AHS/Covenant, but as pointed out, there have been layoffs and so s/he would be competing with local nurses who were at the end of the bumping cascade. That might effectively eliminate the possibility of hire.

There was just a big lower management shake-up at my hospital and we've been warned that there are more changes coming. A lot of junior management people were reassigned or had their responsibilities expanded. We went from 4 unit managers (more like clinical resource nurses than "managers" - sort of) to just a single. One of our unit managers (lowest of the low on the org totem pole) is currently in a temp position and her permanent position has been eliminated. No one knows for sure what she's going to do next month when her temp position ends. She's been out-of-scope for so long (5 or 6 years) that she wouldn't be safe at the bedside for a while (not that she'd want to return to the bedside) and she lost all of her UNA seniority when she went out-of-scope so she can't even bump into a job she might want. The echoes of the '90s are pretty loud right now!

The echoes of the '90s are pretty loud right now!

I keep trying to warn my classmates about this (starting 4th year BScN next fall) but everyone seems to be in denial right now about how bad things are. I graduated from high school in 1993, and even though nursing wasn't something I was remotely interested in back then, I can still remember how tough it was for nurses.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Same here. I graduated high school in the early 90's, and I decided against nursing school at that time due to the lack of work for nurses across Canada.

Many nurses went to the US then, but the US economy at present is worse than ours, so that's not really a viable solution. Jobs were scarce and thousands of nurses were laid off. This would have been 1992-1999 when the economic climate was bad. This time around, nursing has been at a low point since the tail end of 2007. It takes quite a while to resolve in a positive way.

I've heard of casual unit clerks having zero hours since January.

Can only repeat what Jan said, CARNA and CLPNA don't care about nurse finding work, only collecting fees.

The economy is bad in the US but I hear that is is GREAT in Texas....booming there actually with unemployment as low as 2.5%. I have had several recruiters contact me from Texas so think it might be true.

Specializes in geriatrics.

The thing is, as I mentioned, you may or may not be able to land a position with a non profit agency or a private company. But even these agencies have cut jobs because whatever government funding they were receiving has been cut.

If you are hired within AHS or Covenant Health and then positions are cut somewhere within these organizations....well, these nurses need a place to go. That means you're either reduced to casual status or laid off.

Consider working rural, anywhere. Even if you don't really want to, just to gain experience, do it. Rural facilities are always looking for staff, Northern AB included.

Nunavut and the Yukon are hiring too, if you can stand extreme cold and isolation. Or you might have to try to get 3 casual jobs. Do what you need to do. Sask and Manitoba are hiring at the moment.

This won't last forever, but the next year will be dry. I've heard ON, BC, and Nfld is in similar shape.

Oh, I hear you. When I was a new grad at the turn of the century (love being able tosay that), there were few jobs. At one time I was employed as a casual at four different places. Made keeping the calendar straight a challenge! But even then there was not full time hours (had student loans to pay back). And it meant picking up the shifts nobody wanted.

That's what a casual has to do. Pick up the nights, weekends, last minute calls.

Oh, and Texas? I had a coworker who went down in the '90s. Broke the contract and came home. The final straw was being called a "wetback" by a patient.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Texas is not for me either. I've heard too many horror stories over the years.

I was planning to move to the city this summer, but those plans are on hold until at least fall, due to the state of things. I'll stay put until some of this resolves and the shuffling of staff dies down.

As far as shifts nobody wants? Sign me up! Nights, weekends and holidays are quieter and more money. You do what you have to do.

The thing is, as I mentioned, you may or may not be able to land a position with a non profit agency or a private company. But even these agencies have cut jobs because whatever government funding they were receiving has been cut.

If you are hired within AHS or Covenant Health and then positions are cut somewhere within these organizations....well, these nurses need a place to go. That means you're either reduced to casual status or laid off.

Consider working rural, anywhere. Even if you don't really want to, just to gain experience, do it. Rural facilities are always looking for staff, Northern AB included.

Nunavut and the Yukon are hiring too, if you can stand extreme cold and isolation. Or you might have to try to get 3 casual jobs. Do what you need to do. Sask and Manitoba are hiring at the moment.

This won't last forever, but the next year will be dry. I've heard ON, BC, and Nfld is in similar shape.

MB is not doing any better with jobs. We don't have anything either. That's a big reason for my move. I have been trying since I graduated and now 2 yrs later I work at an agency and hope I get a shift. I worked like 10 casual jobs in my 2 yrs of work. Sucks I guess all over for the nursing profession

This is sad! I was just approved to take the CPNRE and I'm planning to move to Edmonton at the beginning of next year. Now it looks like if I do move to Alberta, I'll have to live in the middle of no where. Another option would be to get licensed in a state close to Alberta. Maybe I can find a job in the oil fields. I don't know. :down:

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