Philippine Nurse going to Canada

tonyrn80 · Jan 29, 2008

wow felisa! well said :)

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 29, 2008

Going back to my first question, so can we work as Auxiliary Nurse?

As suzanne4 said, "There is no such thing or actual title for the auxillary nurse, it is purely a nursing asst and at that pay." I have done an intensive search for job postings for auxiliary nurses in Canada and there are no such thing. The closest I could come was "nursing assistant", "nursing attendant", "nurse's aide", "residential care aide" or "service worker" (which is a glorified name for a porter). One of the four postings for nursing attendant with Capital Health in Edmonton, Alberta currently vacant (none of which are full time) gives this information:

Job Classification

Nursing Attendant

RPT - Regular Part Time

FTE: 0.9

# of openings: 1

Site Designation At Home Site University of Alberta Hospital

Date Opened Date Closed

January 25, 2008 February 04, 2008

Salary Range

$13.09 - $16.41 per hour, as per AUPE/Auxiliary Collective Agreement

Hours Of Work

18 x 11.625 hour shifts in a 6 week shift cycle. D/N

As a new hire you would be paid at the base rate of $13.09 an hour, or $457 a week before deductions (assume about 35% for income tax, employment insurance, Canada Pension Plan, union dues and benefits). Your rent on a studio apartment would run in the range of $700 + utilities a month while a room in someone's home would be more affordable at around $500 a month. Transit pass $58 per month. Food and incidentals another $500 a month if you eat Ramen noodles a lot. Alberta Health Care premiums add another $11 a month since the employer would pay 75% of those. Telephone charges without long distance would be about $50 a month. That leaves about $65 a month unaccounted for. And this would be for as long as it takes to complete any upgrading, write the CRNE and get a practice permit.

Weather conditions... well are you ready for this?

Edmonton - Weather - Environment Canada

Current Conditions: Sunny, -30.51°C

Observed at: Edmonton City Centre Airport 11:00 AM MST Tuesday 29 January 2008

Condition: Sunny

Temperature: -30.51°C

Pressure / Tendency: 102.0 kPa falling

Visibility: 14.5 km

Humidity: 63 %

Wind Chill: -43

Dewpoint: -35.3°C

Wind: SE 17 km/h

Tuesday: Sunny. Becoming cloudy late this afternoon. High minus 28.

Tuesday night: Cloudy. Temperature steady near minus 28.

Wednesday: Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries in the morning and afternoon. High minus 24.

Thursday: A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 30. High minus 24.

Friday:Cloudy with 60 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 28. High minus 23.

Saturday: A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 26. High minus 19.

I'm not trying to scare you, just make you really understand what it's like here. If you aren't prepared completely it will be a very unpleasant awakening.

I went out for groceries this afternoon because I have to go back to work tomorrow. I spent $250 for five bags with mostly canned goods in them. Although my car is kept in the garage, I wasn't sure it would start due to the cold. By the time I got a buggy and got into the store the tiny exposed areas of my face were red and stinging. Carrying the food into the house was another opportunity to develop frostbite. I grew up here and know exactly how to dress for the weather, but I still am chilled to the bone when I finally get back indoors. The number of layers of clothing I wear in weather like this makes it very hard to move, my hearing is limited by the thickness of the hat I pull down over my ears and wearing a scarf over my face causes my glasses to ice over almost immediately (I have to breathe, after all), but I have no interest in losing nose, ears, toes or fingers to frostbite.