jordanl

Hi there! I am currently a second year BScN student in Canada. My goal once I am done school is to become an Oncology Nurse. Recently I have begun taking a year long Oncology program through a well recognized Cancer Institute in the province I live in. After I have completed each course I receive a certificate for each course and at the end of the program a certificate of completion. It has been a TON of work. Generally this course is done once you start working in the cancer clinic. Jobs are hard to come by in the cancer clinic here, so I am doing everything I can to get my final practicum there with hopes of getting hired right out of school. My question for you guys is- if you were a cancer clinic manager would a new grad applicant having this course benefit the applicant? I was informed that it wouldn't matter to the employer because the nurses are expected to work on it once they are hired. Sorry for the long winded thread! Jordan Link to the course: http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/2301.asp

Hi there, I have a question about a patient I have that I am hoping someone with more experience might have seen before. So this patient (post op) I have has an enterobacter infection that has formed abscesses in the abdominal cavity,this is being treated by a cocktail of antibiotics. Two weeks ago this patient had a CT scan to check for a bleed due to low hemoglobin. This patient had a CT about 2 weeks after the first one and the liver shows multiple lesions on the liver that weren't there 2 weeks ago on the first CT. One doctor thinks it could be cancerous and one says more likely abscesses. So they sent this patient for an Ultrasound to attempt to biopsy, however they could not find the lesions on the ultrasound. This seems so weird to me, has anyone seen a contradiction between the ultrasound and CT exams? Also, if this is cancer- has anyone heard of lesions popping up this quickly. This specific patient really interests me. Thanks in advance for your expertise :)

Unfortunately, being able to show up for work is a job requirement. Continuing to give her consequences and chances is enabling her behaviour. Find someone reliable and who will actually work at the job. Everyone wins!

It really sounds like their loss and they don't deserve you as an employee. Find another place of work that will appreciate the good things you bring to the table.

Hmmm.. If you could go somewhere in nursing outside of floor nursing, do you think that would be a better environment? Possibly public health, or cancer clinic?

Thanks for the response! I find the lab to be incredibley repititive and a little bit of a snore. I feel like I would like something with more variety. I feel like I'm on autopilot most days. Nursing seems like a good fit, but I'm a bit worried maybe its just the hospital environment I don't like? I also feel as though in my hospital the lab is a bit of a dumping ground for other healthcare workers. For example, I was up on one of our wards doing morning round blood draws, and one of the nurses had a nursing student with her and she tells the student "oh don't worry about here she's just from the lab, we consider the lab to be the bottom feeders of the hospital". I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I also want to add I mean no disrespect towards any nurses, as most of them are great.

that would be why i am asking, because i don't know. so i could probably do without the ignorant comments. thanks.

Hey everyone, I have posted a few times on here regarding stuff sort of like this. I am currently a lab tech at our hospital. I really thought I wanted to be a nurse, and most days I still do. Then I look at how miserable my job in the lab makes me and it discourages me. Am I comparing apples and oranges here? Or if there some validity to thinking if I don't like the lab then I may not like nursing either? Thanks in advance :) .

I hear you on that! I got accepted into nursing school and an xray program, and I'm thinking x ray might be the way to go!

I'm from northern Alberta in Canada, where students have jobs before they graduate. So luckily I don't have to worry about that! :)

Would you suggest your chosen profession to someone trying to choose a career? If yes, why? If no, why not? Thanks :)

I never said everyone wants to live there, not everyone wants to live in a huge center either, the OP asked where the jobs were and where people worked, so I gave that information. I'm not sure why you feel the need to argue with me over nothing. As for there being no jobs for spouses, obviously you have never been in this area as not only nurses are in demand, all jobs are. Thanks for the comments.

Oh I for surely know it isn't the glamorous job the show on TV. I work in a hospital now , so I didn't go into this blind expecting it to just be giving out meds to people ha ha. I just didn't think certain things would make me as uncomfortable as they have...

Ba ha ha ha ha, that is amusing!

I'm a nursing student and as dumb as this may sound, does the gross side of nursing ever get easier to handle? Does dealing with poop and sputum start to gross you out less after a while? Do catheters and genital upkeep become less uncomfortable? These are the areas I'm kind of having a hard time stomaching right at the moment and its making me question my decision to enter nursing school.

Which they do, and Grande Prairie is 60 000 people, its not a tiny little town. As for weather - its the exact same as Edmonton and we have had better weather than southern AB has all year.

I live in Grande Prairie, AB which is about 4.5 hours north of Edmonton. Currently this week alone we have posted another 18 nursing jobs for our local hospital. Our area is STARVING for nurses, new grads have jobs lined up before they are even done school.

Thanks very much! I would love to hear your pros and cons list if you have a minute , please and thanks!

Hmm... Okay, thanks for the insite everyone! Some good things for me to think about, I'm leaning towards nursing and have been all aloing but I'm sort of scared to go into nursing after hearing all of the stories and how many nurses don't like their job! Thanks to everyone!

Hello, I'm a student presently trying to decide between nursing and x ray tech, I got into both programs for this fall. I'm hoping to get the opinions of people who are already in the nursing profession. Thanks guys!

Funny, I have the same preference!

Talking to alot of the nurses in my hospital, if they knew then what the know now, they would not be nurses. I was a bit suprised to hear this. Anybody else feel this way?

In alberta, Canada the starting wage is right around 22.00/hr.. We are the lowest paid province in Canada!

Okay that sounds like a good idea! Our casual set up here is basically any left over shifts that aren't filled by the fulltime or part time staff members the casual staff are allowed to pick up. Then the casuals are also called in if they are short staffed. Thanks for everyones help :)

Thanks for your replies! I am currently working in our hospital as a lab tech and I know for a fact that our hospital doesn't do self scheduling (that would a dream). As for there being no nursing jobs as HappyGo1 said. I live in Canada and thats not the case here. Nurses are hired for job before they even graduate nursing school. We are starving for nurses up here, especially in the northern region I live in.