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Oh wow, 20 weeks?! And that is with a buddy nurse for every single one of those shifts? Maybe our workloads are different, but when we are deemed "independent", we are expected to take care of a stable ventilated patient. We won't be getting unstable patients for some time yet. Of course this is ICU so the patients may become unstable despite our best efforts.. but the unit seems very helpful and cohesive and everyone is very willing to lend a hand. I don't think we get "doubled" (2 patients) until we have been working independently for 2 or 3 weeks. Regardless.. my first independent shift is July 19.. I'll have to let you guys know how it goes haha

Hey Everyone! Love this idea, I graduated in April this year as well. My final placement was in the General Systems ICU that I have now been hired into. We are pretty lucky here in Alberta, Canada though.. when you are hired into ICU you get put through a 4 week classroom course (that was paid!) that includes one clinical day a week, and then once you pass that portion, you are given 10 buddy shifts to become independent! Currently doing those buddy shifts.. Super nervous for my first independent shift! Also haven't heard about about my national registration exam (CRNE for us).. So for right now.. my motto is to just keep swimming!!

I too am graduating in April.. and that is exactly what I would like to know as well! Although I am also interested in the UK. From what I've heard(and read), it is generally best to get a couple years of experience in your home country so that you aren't a "new grad" when you go over there--they have their own new grads that they would rather have in those transitional programs. So that is my current plan.. graduate (fingers crossed! ), work for 1-2 years and get experience, and then try my hand at travel nursing in either the UK or Australia. Here's hoping that someone with experience in either place will reply!

I would be a flight attendant! Or a travel agent. Or maybe a flight attendant until I was older or wanted to settle down, then use my experience to be a travel agent. But, since I'm just now finishing my nursing degree, I'll just have to settle with travel nursing! ...after getting 1-2 years of experience that is.

Thank you for the move, I wasn't sure where it was best suited. So, I would apply to take it, and then I suppose with the results you have to register with a state? There is no way to just keep the results and "sit on them" until you decided what state you wanted to register in? Has anyone else gone through this process as a Canadian graduate? (taken the NCLEX a few years before living in the states)

Hello all! I've been trying to find out this information for a while, and haven't had any luck! Forgive me if my research skills are lacking and I've been blind. So, I am a fourth year BScN nursing student in Edmonton, Canada. In April of 2013 I will be graduating, and then taking the CRNE so that I can work in Canada. I plan on working in Canada for at least 1-2 years to gain experience and confidence, but I have a life goal of travel nursing and living abroad. It has been suggested to me that I should take the NCLEX this Spring after I have studied for my CRNE so that everything is fresh in my mind. I realize the two tests are very different, but I still think this is a great idea. However, I have a few concerns. Once you take the NCLEX, do you have to register in a specific state in a specific amount of time? Or could I take the NCLEX, wait a few years, and (assuming I pass) then use that NCLEX pass to register in a state of my choosing? I don't really have any idea which state I would want to work/live in, especially since I don't even know what area of nursing I want to pursue! I wouldn't want to have to decide on a state, pay for registration, then have to let it lapse as I gain experience in Canada. Does anyone have any input on this? I'd really appreciate it! (and I'll be sharing it with my Canadian nursing friends )

Ha. Okay. Thanks! I figured I would ask, couldn't hurt. Though I'm pretty sure paying the exam/registration fee will...

Hello there! I am a 3rd year Nursing student in Edmonton and I just have a few questions if someone could help me out! I'm trying to do some budgeting for next year and I was wondering: I know the fee for the CRNE exam is approx $530, and RN registration is approx $505.. but when it is your first year registering, do you pay the registration fee? Or it is a part of the Examination fee? I realize this is wishful thinking, and I should probably just budget for them both the be separate fees, but it would be very nice to know! Thanks in advance! Caitlin

"He ran into my knife. He ran into my knife ten times." Reminds me of the musical Chicago!

I wonder if doctors ever worry about their portrayal in the media, since I can imagine people go to hospitals and then get angry when they aren't seeing their doctor more than once a day for 5 minutes. Or do they enjoy being shown as doing so many more "nursing duties" and being commended for that? Hmmm.

I am in my 2nd year right now, and unfortunately, it seems to me that it is always the year you are going into..

BALANCE. Yes. Nursing school is tough and you need to study A LOT to pull off amazing marks. But if all you do is study and "say goodbye to the outside world" you are going to hate your life. You are going to resent nursing school instead enjoying it and learning the stuff you need to know. And as for the memorization of info.. I find for me at least, I will memorize things just for the tests. I know it's dumb and won't help me too much in the future.. but I am a person who will look it up later if I need it. No matter if I feel like I know it, if I am thinking of a drug that I haven't given to anyone (especially since I haven't done any med passes yet hah) I am going to look it up. Then, as I use certain knowledge more, I will know it straight-away, without looking it up. Good Luck! and make friends if possible. You aren't in competition with them (at least not at my school, no curve!) and everyone is super helpful, they are little nurses after all! Making friends opens you up to study groups, missed class notes, outside of school activities.. it's nothing but helpful :)

Nursing student: Done! :)

Since no one has said anything about you possibly wanting to work in Dubai.. One of my teachers spent a year in Dubai, and she went through Helen Ziegler & Associates. Their website is Healthcare and Nursing Jobs in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East - Helen Ziegler Take a look around, if you are single (not married) it seems to be a whole lot easier to get a placement there. Good Luck!

Well, I may present a biased opinion.. but I am a first year student and Grant MacEwan. I was just like you, coming straight out of high school. I have only heard good things about Grant MacEwan. I know people who did the transfer program before MacEwan could offer the degree, and they urged me to go to Grant and skip the U of A at ALL costs. I know someone who took her first year at the U of A and hated it, switched to Grant and is now in her 3rd year, and loving it. .. now this is just a rumor I heard.. but I've heard that the U of A nursing students sometime get to come to Grant Mac to use our new, multimillion dollar simulation labs! When I was in gr 12 trying to decide where I wanted to go.. I could only envision myself at the U. It has such a great history and an amazing community, so going there, I think, would be an awesome experience. However, if you're looking for a better program, from what I've heard, and my first semester experience, I would suggest Grant Mac.