studentchar

Hello! First off, I just realized I have to change my username! No longer a student, now officially an RN! Yay me!! I'm in NS, and we are looking forward to a provincial election this fall. Two of the three parties are proposing merging the provincial health boards into 2 or 3, depending on the party. I know from rumblings on here and from my friends in AB that the change to a superboard there hasn't been a smooth one. Is this still true? Has the Alberta nurses union officially issued a statement on that? Or has there been any published findings from nursing or physician's groups on their thoughts about the super boards? Friends and family here in NS don't know a lot about them, they hear cost savings and like the plan, but I'm looking for some evidence to back me on my gut, which tells me that this is not a good thing. Any input, links to info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hello all, What pathophysiology book do most Canadian nursing schools use? We don't have a dedicated patho class in my BScN program-it is incorporated into our med-surg, anatomy, etc classes. I'd like to pick up at used text to help me with my studies. Thank you, Char

Thanks so much for the info! Good to hear that there's lots of work, I've been worried! I will remember your tips re: licensing and negotiating moving expenses. If I could stumble upon that opportunity it would be great!

Thanks for the info guys! Fyreflie, I'm in cape breton. From the feedback from this year's grads and announcements locally there's not going to be a whole lot of work for new grads. My husband can't find work, so we figure we'll move back to AB where he will at least be able to get steady work (we know this from experience and research, not from word of mouth) while I'm working towards a position.

Well, to clarify, I'm not a new grad yet, another year left to my BSCN. I already know that I want to move to another province, I am not looking to stay in the province that I went to school in. Is it possible to register in a different province than the one I received my education in? Would I need to register in my home province, then register in the one I am moving to? I'm educated in NS, moving to AB. Any insight or leads on where to obtain answers to my questions is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Char

Sorry guys, I should have clarified things a bit more: -the commitment would because they paid tuition fees, I'm in my third year right now so they would just pay for the last year. -the facility is not the one I currently work at, but I am very familiar with it. It is well-respected, and I would ask to shadow an RN before I made any decision just to see what the workload is like. Thanks for your input! I am leaning towards it, but of course won't make any decision until I know all of the facts!

So, I'm a third year RN student and I have a chance to guarantee myself a full-time job after graduation. The only problem? It's in LTC, and I'd have to commit to a year, maybe 2. I'm in Canada, so the shortage hasn't quite hit us yet, I'm sure I could pick up fulltime hours in one of the local hospitals. It would be nice to have the guarantee though. I'm just wondering how nurse managers would react if they saw that was my only work experience after graduation if I decide to apply to a med-surg unit, ER, mom and baby, etc after I'm done with my LTC commitment. I don't follow the idea of losing my skills in LTC. The important skills such as analytical thinking, critical care, evidence-base decision making, etc. will always stay with me no matter what health care field I go into. I will never forget the reasons why someone may need an IV, even if I need a refresher to put one in, KWIM? I work as a PCW in a LTC facility right now, and am fairly sure that I don't want to spend my nursing career in a LTC facility. However, this opportunity just seems too good for me to turn down until I do some long and hard thinking and investigation about it. What do you think? Would nurse managers hold that year against me in future job possibilities? Thanks for your input!

Wow, thanks for the honest and detailed response Janfrn! It's such a shock at how quickly things seemed to change (I worked in support services in a hospital in Edmonton and saw scores of new out-of-country hires, stories of booking overtime shifts, etc.), but at the same time my hubby's profession did the same thing in the same amount of time. I'm really kicking myself for leaving the province for school, on so many levels I think I should have stayed. That discussion is better off left on dysfunctionalfamilies.com though! I will keep my ear to the ground and keep myself informed. Hubby and I wouldn't move unless one of us had a permanent job though, with kids it's just too much of a risk to take in these times of financial turmoil. I think I will contact the college to see what they recommend, but take all info I get with a grain of salt. The stories about huge signing bonuses and moving allowances are just that-stories-until I see some hard evidence in front of me! As for saving for the move, that may not happen anytime soon because of paying for school-but we'll deal with that when/if we get there! Thanks for the response, I will be keeping an eye on Alberta-related threads here for sure. Studentchar:nurse:

So, I have a question-sorry if this is hijacking the thread, and let me know if you want me to start a new one! As a new grad, educated out of province, what are the odds that I would get hired as an RN? I see scores and scores of external postings on the AHS website, and that's just looking at Edmonton and area. I spent 10 years in Alberta, miss it very much and still have family there. I am hoping to get work there when I graduate in 2 years. Now I know that no-one can tell the future, and things might change, but is there a chance for a new grad in AB? This is very worrying for me, we'll be moving my family after I graduate, and if I'm moving out to AB and there's no jobs it will be very traumatic for us! On a related note, what can I do to prepare for the move? Should I contact the union (what is the RN union in AB anyway?) or the college of RNs to see what advice they have?

I have to do a case study presentation based on one of my patients in clinical. I really have no idea where to start. Has anyone had to do one of these? Any general hints/tips that I can use?

I am in my second year of nursing school on the East Coast of Canada. Before I applied I heard 'Oh you'll have your pick of jobs' a lot. Now we are hearing from our instructors that we may not have our pick of jobs, but that there will still be jobs out there for us-I'm fine with that. I hear online that there is a shortage of jobs in the US and that it is spreading to Canada. However, I look at different health boards around Canada and see lots of jobs listed-so I'm confused. Is there a job shortage in Canada for nurses? Or is it the case that there is a shortage of full-time positions with benefits available? Are the odds good that I will get full-time hours when I graduate (not necessarily a full-time position) as long as I'm flexible about what dept I work in? Or am I probably going to struggle to make 40hrs a week? I know that no-one can tell the future, and that whatever replies I get here would be educated guesses, but some input would be appreciated! Thanks!