Peds Jobs

[boomerang12]

Hi everyone,

I am a nursing student (will graduate December '15). I have always known 100% since I decided to go into nursing that I wanted to work PICU or NICU. After rotating through both med-surg and peds I am more sure than ever that pediatrics is my calling. My question revolves around how difficult the job market currently is and what the chances are of me being able to find a peds job or get accepted into an American pediatric nurse residency program (with NICU or PICU being ideal, but really I'll take what I can get) as a new grad. I realize it's still a fair amount of time away, but I like to think ahead and I want an idea of what I'm up against. I also realize how competitive this field is but I get good grades, I am a hard worker, I consistently get good feedback from clinical instructors and I know without a doubt that this is the area I want to be in. I currently live in Alberta (Canada), but I don't have a SO or anything else holding me here so when I graduate I was planning to apply anywhere and everywhere. I like a good adventure so I am willing to go pretty much anywhere (out of province, international) if it means getting the job I want. Any stories about how you guys got into peds, if your hospitals accept new grads, where to start out, what a good plan is, etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

You may have difficulty being accepted in a US program as priority is generally given to local graduates/US educated candidates as these programs are few and thus highly competitive. Do you have the rights to legally live & work in the USA? I know it is not as complicated for Canadians as other international citizens but I doubt the most common visa used by Canadians to work in the US (NAFTA TN visa) applies to residency programs.

To your advantage Canadian & US nursing education are both generalist. However to gain US licensing you still would have to apply and qualify for a nursing license in the state where the program is located. There are additional steps & fees for internationally educated nurses. In addition, several states require a nursing license from the country of education as part of the process. So you would need to pass the CRNE & become licensed in the Provence where you are being educated.

Do they not have nurse residencies in Canada? I know there are several very well respected pediatric hospitals in Canada.

[boomerang12]

Thanks so much for your reply! Now to answer your questions.... As far as I can tell I should be able to work on a TN visa, as nurse residencies are RN positions. Unfortunately nurse residencies do not exist in Canada, which I think is too bad as they are a great way to transition new grads. I am not at all opposed to staying in Canada, I would absolutely love to work at Alberta Children's or in NICU at Foothills or at Stollery or a children's hospital in another province but there do not seem to be opportunities here for new grads, especially in Alberta. It's not that I necessarily want to leave, I just wanted to make it clear to everyone reading that I am really willing to go anywhere where the position I want exists :) I have been checking out licensing requirements in a few states and most of them seem to require that I have both passed the NCLEX which I will already have done because as of January 2015 the CRNE will be replaced by the NCLEX in Canada, and pay the fees to get a license in their state. I will definitely continue to look into that. It is kind of sad to see opportunities like nurse residencies being offered in the US and not here. Because while they are competitive at least there's an opportunity. Here I have not seen a single peds job posting that didn't require 2+ years of experience, and usually it was required that said experience was pediatric experience. It makes it really tough to get a foot in the door! Thank you again for your answer and giving me a few more things to consider/look into!