RGN1

With retrogression as it is I wouldn't bother!

I got hired by just submitting to an on-line posting for an RN permanent position. For sure it's no bad thing to go visit a unit (although in this case I didn't) if they have a posting but you still have to submit on-line. I was already working at the hospital and so was an internal candidate but I have hardly any seniority and that did not cause me a problem because I had outside experience pertinent to the job. If you are the right candidate chances are you will be called but they may already know who they want to give the job to and that can be a problem I know. Just try and match your resume to the job they are posting by ensuring it's easy to see why you think you would be a good fit and make sure your resume is clear, concise and free from grammatical or spelling mistakes. Sounds simple but you would be surprised how many people don't do that.

I think you need to gain some experience as an RN before you make a move abroad. most countries ask for around 2 years minimum and I personally think that's really not quite enough for you to gain the knowledge you need. Right now the world economy is not conducive to getting out the UK anyway so I would plan for a few years of experience in the UK while you research where you want to go and what the logistics in getting there are. It's a good future plan and I don't blame you for wanting out but remember the grass is not always greener and you really need to do a lot of fact finding before you commit to ensure your best chance of not regretting your move.

Here we are more computerised and I am definitely doing a lot less paperwork than I was in the UK. I don't fear the admission anymore - like I used to! I wish the UK Trusts would look at the ridiculous amount of form filling nurses do because I know that I have way more time to nurse now than I did there. I wish for your sakes that management would get a grip and understand the problem and in truth the RCN should be helping get the message across because it really does tie you up way more than it needs to.

Welcome to Calgary! Hope you're enjoying our lOVELY Spring weather!

If you're giving your notice what does it matter?

Not to mention the numerous studies that have been done that prove there is a direct link between nurse to patient ratio and morbidity/mortality of said patients!

Had one of those days today!:-)

There is no excuse for bad nursing, period, be you a new grad or not. It's very hard to follow a nurse like that and I can probably, safely say that we've all been there! There is no easy fix either - we can all shout report her but how many of us, hand on heart, have done that when we really should have. It's the culture of blaming the messenger instead of listening to the message. I think that if her care has put pt safety at risk you need to take it higher, otherwise just speak to her, no matter how blankly she may look at you it may well be sinking in at least a little bit. Even better - do you have a clinical nurse educator you can speak to? I found ours invaluable in a similar case, as she approached it form a learning perspective rather than seeming to be management responding to a tattle tale (which is NOT what it is but is what our society often chooses to think of it as) I hope you get it resolved both for yours and your patients sakes!

Haha! No kidding! Or that 12 years after your original nursing courses you can still hold a pencil!

I think it's fair to let the nurses practice, they are only allowed to work to the limits of the temp license and the exam doesn't change their practice, it's a qualifying exam but their ability doesn't change because they pass or fail it! I've seen good nurses who have taken 2 or even 3 tries to pass the exam but they were still the same nurse before and after both their failures and their passes! The exam proves squat in terms of how good a nurse you are! In fact I'd go further and say the Canadian exam proves squat period!! :-D

Hope it works out for you! These things come in cycles throughout the Western World, as Fiona has attested! You just have to put your head down, do the best you can and wait for it to turn full circle! It just sucks that it's every day Joe public that gets bled dry while the rich get richer and the politicians sit pretty! Did you know that not since Medieval times has the wealth of the world been so unevenly distributed? We're all just serfs again!! :-D

As a nurse who came from the UK to Alberta I'd say do it!! Cost of living, when all is said and done, is pretty similar to UK, somethings are cheaper, some things are more expensive. Your wage will be better in line to compensate for COL than in the UK though. Especially as you have some years behind you. You get less vacation and there are other issues you may want to think about - such as cost of healthcare (not as many things are covered here as in the UK under the NHS.) Full time here can be horrible - the shift pattern is harder then the UK for floor nurses - the evening shift being 3.30-11.30pm. There are 12 hr shifts (usually day/night) but if the unit is acute that too can be exhausting. I'm trying to put on my sensible hat for you but I have to say that I have been soooooo happy here. Helped by the fact that I recently got a new position (having worked 2 yrs on a very acute unit) where I work 12 hr days at .84 (so no more than 3 days per week) it's Mon-Fri with no bank holidays. I don't think I've ever been happier in my nursing career! The extra time off makes up for the lack of vacation and the 45 min drive to the mountains from my house is fantastic! It's not perfect and you should really do your homework (and your financial math) before making such a life changing decision. If you come with no rose tinted glasses and the right attitude though I don't think you'd regret it. I don't! Oh and don't forget to bring plenty of Marks and Sparks thermals - the weather is brutal in the winter at times!

As usual front line staff cop it - what about all those wasteful management posts?? Problem is right now the whole world is struggling, I feel fortunate to have got out the UK when I did but right now there's little chance of getting a job elsewhere as a new grad - possibly with the exception of Australia (?) Of course all the politicians have their nice private health insurance and plenty of money so it won't hurt them! Just the regular people trying to get by whose taxes pay for the MP's perks!! If it's any consolation though I too graduated at a time when there were similar problems in the NHS and I still managed to get a job, it wasn't where I'd intended but it led to better things and ultimately to my escape from the UK!

At the end of the day it's retrogression that's the issue. Back in 2006 (just as retrogression started to be talked of) I began the US process through Adevia. They did not ask me to part with cash they just facilitated the job offers and helped with the paperwork, In fact they were really quite helpful at the time. To cut a long story short I passed N-CLEX 1st time, got a job offer, had my I-140 approved and a PD date of July 2007. I'm still 2.5 yrs behind the current processing dates!! Interestingly I found out that the hospital hasn't cancelled my job offer yet - but that's probably because they've forgotten it! Anyway, in late 2007 I decided to look to Canada and 8 months from applying was starting my job in Alberta. Now I have permanent residency and will be eligible for Citizenship in 2012 -probably before my US PD date even comes up! I will not be going to the USA now because my eldest is 18 & can't come on my US Green card anymore (should it ever be granted!)

The only way to know is to go ahead and apply. You may find that you are absolutely fine, so I wouldn't panic at this point in time, as you may be worrying needlessly.

Just keep applying. I know there are jobs, you just have to keep going until you find one! I must have hit the submit button at least 10 times before I got my job. Sometimes the posts are filled from within a unit, then they have a re-shuffle and have to re-post what lines are left after that. Don't give up. At least the website makes it easy, just file your resume in the computer & then everytime something comes up just submit it.

Hey check out the link I put on the other thread to Jack FM's version of the cookie incident - it's hilarious! Other than that - goodbye to bad rubbish!!

Cookie Press Conference - JACK FM Radio Calgary - Media anyone lsiten to Jack FM's version? Hilarious! He'll be sorely missed.......................NOT!!!!

:yeah:

If the above post is correct then don't touch it with a ten foot long greasy barge pole!

In the UK it's standard practice for a nurse in a clinic to carry out PAP smears. it's just further training that's all. I never had a PAP done by a Dr in the UK. In areas where nurses have taken over jobs traditionally done by doctors in the past, research has shown that the nurses have better levels of patient comfort and higher results. The reason being that they are able to concentrate on a smaller range of skills & so perfect them. This was seen recently in the UK when nurses started performing endoscopies at some hospitals & pts rated their comfort levels better & the detection rate for polyps was higher in the nurses scopes vs the doctors. Having said all that the training has to be right - it shouldn't just be a look at the web & a quick lesson by the doctor. All training should be done properly & with careful teaching, maybe with the use of manikins.

I recently moved from 8 hr day/eve unit to 12 hour days & I love it. I love the extra time off and I haven't found it harder to work 4 more hours. My body clock is better because my hours are more regular in that I go to bed & get up roughly around the same time every day. Mind you, it's a great unit & I don't have to work weekends or Bank Holidays anymore, so I guess it's not comparable to floor nursing on the units. I was exhausted after my 8 hr days there! So really I just posted to gloat that after 13 years of shift work I'm still floor nursing but with regular hours! :-)

That's what they've been doing in the UK for years and I don't think it works very well at all! Personally, having passed both N-CLEX & CRNE I think it's a good thing to have an exam. It allows you to focus on all you've learned & demonstrates a basic level of working knowledge. Although I have to say I learned way more from N-CLEX (& felt that it better demonstrated a competent nurse) than CRNE. IMO if they are thinking of changing anything they should look at a more N-CLEX style of exam. Not least because you can take it when you like & get the results in 48 hrs!!

It's all relative to the cost of living. Some places may look like the pay is higher but so is everything else! So just looking at wages is not a good idea. You have to look at the whole picture. Here, however, I can afford a decent house & a reasonable standard of living on my nurses wage. In the UK I was paid less (about $8 per hour basic less with the shift differentials here being over double the UK rate) than I am in Alberta and my cost of living was higher (being in London as I was.) Add in the fact that the working conditions are way better where I am right now, it's a no brainer from my point of view!