pugmum

If you decide not to go with the Vancouver Costal Health Authority, try Fraser Health. It covers 12 hospitals from Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Maple Ridge, to Surrey, Delta, White Rock, and Langley, and further east into the Fraser Valley - Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and Hope. You would be welcome at any of theses hospitals I am sure, travelling time would be less and housing less expensive, too! But then I am a little prejudiced as I work in Fraser Health! The website if you are interested is http://www.fraserhealth.ca

I don't really see nursing as a calling, because for me, the word "calling" has a religious connotation - and please note, I mean for me, because it may not be seen as this by other people. When I decided to become a nurse, it was more of a "drive" that sent me in this direction, and the RN at the end of my education was the goal. I did want a profession that offered me a way to support myself with some flexibility, but the money was only a secondary consideration. I can't deny that a motivation was to find a job in which I could be useful and help others, but I never regarded this as a calling. One last thing that just twigged and probably had a great deal to do with my choice was a counsellor in high school. This was a few years ago, and then she tended to steer the girls toward teaching, nursing or secretarial work. I picked nursing because I saw it as the most useful! Of course my feelings have changed over the years, there are many "useful" professions, but that's how I ended up where I am today!

Kimmy, keep that glass half full attitude...keep using this site to learn, to question, and to communicate with other nurses, and even to vent when you need to. I think you will find that the postives far outweigh the negatives! :)

Holy smoke! We're probably neighbours! PM me!

True, true, TRUE! The one time I nearly hit the deck was after I poked my thumb with a staple...what a wimp to turn pale and woozy! And I've been an ER nurse for years!

I agree with Steph on this one. If they want you, they'll hire you, pregnant or not. If they just want a body to fill a spot, you will find out pretty quick...and it may not be a place where you want to work. A unit that respects employees takes pregancies and families in stride. While you are under no obligation to disclose, when I have interviewed prospective employees, I have always appreciated honesty. The element of trust is an important one. Whatever you decide, you will pick the right approach for you....congrats on the baby and best of luck to you!

have to agree...I hope we have heard the last of it! Much as our current system is not perfect, its still tried and true! The lack of details/plans were major cause of discomfort...

Hi there, Just saw this thread...To answer your question is difficult...Fraser Health is a large health authority, divided into 3 regions with 4 hospitals in each. Fraser North - Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, Burnaby General in Burnaby, Eagle Ridge in Port Moody, and Ridge Meadows in Maple Ridge. Fraser South - Surrey Memorial in Surrey, Delta Hospital, Peace Arch in White Rock, and Langley Memorial in Langley. Fraser East - MSA Hospital in Abbotsford, Mission Memorial in Mission, Chilliwack General in Chilliwack, and Fraser Canyon in Hope. The smaller hospitals are in Hope, Mission, and Delta, and have limited surgeries. RCH, SMH, and MSA are the largest in each of the regions. Of these 3, RCH would have the most variety and most of the specialties, but I don't think they do all the heart surgeries (I could be wrong here as I don't work there). So if you are looking for variety, either of these 3 would have it, with MSA being the smallest of the 3 but still must make referrals to SMH/RCH. The one advantage MSA has is they are building a new state of the art hospital which is to open within 2 years. Housing prices are the most expensive in Fraser North and South, and get cheaper the farther you move out into the Fraser Valley (Fraser East). Many choose to live a bit further out, but then have to make the freeway commute across the Port Mann bridge or Patullo bridge which can be a bottle neck! I have worked at SMH, LMH, MSA, and Mission. Langley is a nice community but growing rapidly. The same with Surrey, but busier. White Rock is beautiful, touristy in the summer, but housing is expensive unless you are independently wealthy! In the valley it is a bit more rural and housing is cheaper, Abbotsford and Mission tend to have younger families, and the population is expected to increase over the next 10 years. The whole Fraser health Authority is undergoing organizational change right now, realigning directors etc and just hired a new chief nursing officer. Wish I could be more specific about surgical units, but have not worked surgery for several years! So i hope this info about FH is helpful to you. One thing about FH is that they are very good with supporting nurses for specialy education, so if you apply for a program and are accepted, they pay books, tuition and salary. You should also be offered some relocation assistance the last I heard. Good luck to you! Oh, and the Olympics are coming in 2010...you'll have people coming out of the woodwork wanting to stay with you! :chuckle edited: the link if you are interested is http://www.fraserhealth.ca

It wouldn't hurt to ask your preceptor the rationale for not diluting the med, even though it is recommended in your drug book (not in a challenging way). Perhaps there are hospital guidelines regarding the dilution of meds that you have not yet had an opportunity to learn about. I would check to see if your hospital has a pharmacy medication administration manual. If the question came up with morphine, it may come up again with other drugs, and its much better to be prepared and know where your reference material is.

Once an arrest is identified, the code button on the wall above the pts. bed is pushed, and the alarm rings at the station...the unit clerk phones a number that is connected to the overhead paging system, and a code is called hospital wide which alerts the code team. At the same time the nurse usually shouts down the hallway to get help, and enough people respond to bring the crash cart and assist until the code team arrives. Similar situation at other hospitals I've worked at, only some do not have code buttons, and it is usually shout down the hall to summon help and get the code team.

No, not true....a regular program.

Psych nurses are absolutely "real" nurses in the same way that ICU nurses are nurses, and the same for ER, med-surg, L/D nurses etc. I know that there are still some nurses out there that believe that if you aren't working in an acute/critical care area that you couldn't possibly be a real nurse, and I also remember hearing that nurses working in LTC were looked upon as those that didn't want to think too much or work too hard...thankfully these attitudes and beliefs are becoming less and less common. I've been nursing since the days of the dinosaurs, and I've seen the pendulum swing! I wonder if some of this psych 'not a real nurse' is a hold over from the days when mental illness had such a stigma surrounding it, in that mental illnesses could not possibly be as urgent or as 'important' as a real physical illness...just a thought.

The hospital I work at now has no dress code, wear any color and any style...unfortunately, we have a couple of nurses who take this literally and look like they are wearing pyjamas....They get this wounded look if you say anything and say "What are you looking at....they're made out of cotton!" Looks like he** ...very unprofessional looking. The last hospital I worked at, all the units had color coded scrubs, easily identifiable and the staff loved it!

What area of area of Canada are you referring to? In BC, despite the shortage, we need to at least be enrolled in a master's program to be instructing RN students, its hardly "pretty easy", and last I checked the salary was nowhere close! Can you tell me where they are hiring instructors with no BSN for $80 an hour....I'll pack my bags!

It will depend on you. If you treat your co-workers respectfully and your patients holistically, and you don't try to impose your beliefs on anyone else, I suspect you will feel comfortable in your work setting. Take the same setting, but you announce to all that you are an atheist, find yourself unable to support your patients or challenge your coworkers beliefs, I suspect you might have a little difficulty and end up defending yourself on a daily basis. My feeling is religion is best kept private in the workplace along with your your sex life and how much money you have in the bank.

There will always be two schools of thought. A major argument for med-surg is that nothing beats a year of med-surg to really consolidate your learning, integrate theory with practice, and develop the confidence in your assessment skills and ability to organize yourself and manage time. Its often during this first year that your really begin to develop and refine that sixth sense of knowing when something is 'not quite right' and putting the whole picture together. There are a few hospitals that are well staffed enough to hire mentors for new grads in a critical care areas to nurture and develop new staff, but these are few and far between. The last hospital I worked at had mentorship lines for new grads in critical care areas, but it was the same old stuff...mentor in name only, in reality the mentor and new hire were used as staff due to the ongoing staff shortage. Some new hires were burned out before their time, questioning their career choices and stressed beyond belief. You need to carefully evaluate yourself and the ICU program that is proposed for you. There is an advantage to working med-surg. If you definitely want to work ICU, take the job for year with the understanding that you will transfer to an ICU setting after this time. You may love med-surg or hate it, but go with the attitude that you are there to hone and refine your skills. If you decide to go to ICU, ensure that the program is what you are expecting and all the supports you need are in place. Nothing is worse than being told what a wonderful orientation you will have, and so-and-so will be there to show you the ropes, introduce you to the unit gradually, etc. etc. Sorry, but been there and done that (and sold a crock of cr**) - make sure you talk to other nurses that have been there before!

Our PICCS are valved, and don't need a clamp...perhaps this is why you don't have clamps on your.

[banana]congratulations to you!!![/banana]

I was taught 5 Fs....with fertile added to the other 4!

We suck a bit of NS through after we are done suctioning to clear the catheter and tubing, then put the Yaunker back in its wrap then in the holder. If it hits the floor or any other surface, it gets tossed. Its not sterile, but you want to think about where that suction tip was before it touches the pts. mouth....if you wouldn't put it in your mouth, don't put it in theirs. So if its dirty or plugged, it gets replaced and we keep it in its wrapper.

JMO, but we are not the Morals Police. It shouldn't matter to us to is involved in a relationship in the workplace UNLESS that relationship becomes very obvious to all involved and disrupts the workplace for both patients and staff. If they start swapping spit or groping each other in front of patients or staff, then it becomes our business and the business of administration. I don't happen to agree or approve with the behaviour of either of them, but no one needs my approval to live their lives the way they see fit. I have worked with two single unmarried people who began a relationship, and carried it too darn far, with smooching in the staff room, throaty mumbles about body parts, etc. and it was enough to send me to management PDQ - unprofessionalism which was disrespectful to colleagues, and was not tolerated. I have also worked on a unit with a married physician and a married nurse who began an affair. Everyone knew about it, but they conducted themselves so professionally at work, an onlooker wouldn't have a clue. Their approval rating was in the tank, but no one had any reason to complain about their behaviour at work. So if patient care and the smooth running of a unit is affected in any way, time for someone to get involved, but until that line is crossed, we really have no right to tell them how to live their lives - even if we disagree with what they are doing.

Kate, check on the Health Authority websites for the province...if they are requesting an employer in order to grant you a temporary permit, perhaps this will help. I wasn't aware of this. I am sure we have hired people from out of the country who have written their exams and obtained an interim permit. These people have put a profile/applied on line for a position within a health authority.

Kate, do you actually have an interim permit from the College of Registered Nurses of BC, or are you talking about a work permit? If you have an interim permit from CRNBC, and you have written the exam, you should be able to be hired almost immediately once you have an interview and references are checked. I know for a fact that there are many jobs unfilled in the lower mainland as acute medicine, surgery, and the specialty areas as ER and ICU/CCU if you have the appropriate education and training. Not knowing the location (where in the province) and the exact area you want to work in make it difficult...but you absolutely need that interim permit, or you can't work.

RPNs are hired in BC to work in LTC.

You can work in Canada as long as you become registered in the province in which you wish to practice. Out of country credentials are evaluated, if lacking in some way, there may be a requirement of additional education or clinical hours. NPs require registration by the College of Registered Nurses of BC as well. In order to become registered, you still need to write the Canadian RN exams before the CRNBC will grant you full registration. A license in the US does not automatically result in registration in BC.