Ontario, New Brunswick hospital nursing

[AnonymousSPN]

My partner is a RN originally from Ontario with many years experience as a hospital nurse in the US. I'm finishing up my LPN here in the states.

We want to move to Canada as soon as my permanent residence application is approved. We have family in NB and Ont and are trying to decide whether we want to live in NB or Ont. I know jobs aren't easy to come by in either of these provinces.

I'm hoping to get some insight on the environment for hospital nurses in both provinces. Are you overworked, underpaid, and disrespected?

What type of shifts do you work? Here, you either work 7a to 7:30 p for three days per week for you work 7p to 7:30 a. There are no rotating of shifts. Must you work rotating shifts if you work as a hospital nurse in these Canadian provinces?

We are both anglophones. Can you even get a job as a nurse in NB if tu ne parles pas francais?

Any thoughts on nursing in Ontario and NB would be greatly appreciated.

[loriangel14, RN]

Hi there. I am an RPN from Ontario(we are called RPNs in this province only).

I think opinions on work environment will vary from person to person. I myself feel I work in a very good environment.I work in a small hospital.Most of the time work load is doable, there is the odd crazy day but I get my breaks and if I have to stay late I can put in for overtime.Our scope of practice is very broad and getting wider all the time.The only drawback is that the college of nurses defines our scope but they have nothing to do with the pay scale. So we get more responsibilites but not neccesarily a pay increase.Most hospitals and LTC facilites are unionized and that does go a long way towards protecting us from horrible work conditions or being treated unfairly.As an RPN we are treated with as much respect as the RNs and where I work we interact with the rest of the health care team regularly.Relations between doctors and nurses are generally excellent.

My workplace has a mix of 8 and 12 hour shifts. Either 0730-1930, or 0730-1530,1530-2330,2330-0730.Some work all 12s, some work all 8s and some work both.Very few nurses have a line that is straight days/evenings/nights.Most are day/night or days/evenings.

Best of luck with your decison. Let us know how you get on.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Not sure for LPN but for RN in NB you are expected to be bilingual in French and English. Was hoping to post links but for some reason College of RN for NB won't open

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. About one-third of the population is Francophone. The economy of New Brunswick is such that there is a high incidence of seasonal work with high unemployment at certain times of the year.

Ontario also has a large Francophone population and in some areas of the province French is a requirement for employment. The economy in Ontario is struggling in the wake of the recession still being felt in the US and job losses in the manufacturing sector.