jsc99

When I took the LPN program a few years ago at Norquest in Edmonton, the tuition was $1200, plus books and uniforms of course, which probably added about another thousand. I remember being surprised at how cheap it was. I know it's now $4100 just for the tuition, with all the extras on top of that. My program was 13 months with a couple of weeks off between each semester. We learned how to manage/monitor IV's and give subcutaneous injections but I see they're now learning how to do IM injections as well. I would have preferred it if it had been 2 years long because it just seemed like there was too much jammed in to a realtively short time period. It all happened so fast! In Ontario, the RPN programs have just recently changed to a 2 year diploma, so I'd imagine other provinces will probably change to that eventually too. 2.5 years does seem long, but you are paying a lot of money, so maybe you do get extra time for clinical or just being able to learn at a less hectic pace, which would be great. You should get some added benefits at that price. Good for you, saving up all that money! I hope you really enjoy your program ! :)

Hi. I used to be an LPN in Alberta and the pay wasn't great (as you know!) so when I returned to Ontario I was happy to find that RPN's seem to be paid better. Unfortunately, I can't be a lot of help since I'm just getting back into the work force but I have recently been checking the job boards and wages really vary from place to place. I've noticed a couple of LTC centres offering in the low teens but that doesn't seem to be the norm here in southern Ontario. Most I've seen are paying in the $17-$20 range. I noticed a home care company offering from $20-$27/hr. I checked Workopolis.com to find what some hospitals are paying and one in Ottawa is offering $19.93-$20.58 and another in Mississauga is offering $21.248 - $22.773. Both are with CUPE. The only other union I know of is OPSEU, but I'm sure there are probably other ones. Hopefully someone else can tell you more. Good luck. :)

You can get some information on the RPNAO website (www.rpnao.org), just click on the Discussion Forums link. A few people have asked that same question and received quite a few responses that you might find helpful. :) Here's one of the responses from the RPNAO re:a future bridging program (posted Nov/03): "As we have explained in other answers posted on the three discussion forums, RPNAO,the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities are working on this and we hope for a pilot site within the next year. Then, we will have to see. Is it in the near future across the province - depends on your defn' of near future. Not for at least a couple of years."

You're very welcome Erika, glad I could help. I'm not currently working on getting my degree since I can't seem to find any schools that offer a bridging program from LPN to RN in Canada. I know Athabasca University now gives LPN's credit for one year towards a degree but I'm not too interested in doing it by distance plus the clinical parts are in Alberta anyway. Not too convenient. I don't really have any desire to go back to school for 4 years so I'm just going to wait for now. Hopefully one day soon a school in Ontario will offer an LPN-RN bridging program. I really wish we had the same options they have in the U.S. No, practical nurses aren't nursing assistant's but I understand how you could have thought that. (Not that there's anything wrong with being a nursing assistant of course, but practical nursing is a different job and should be recognized as such). That's one of the reasons I've found being a practical nurse frustrating. It doesn't seem that they get the credit or respect for the amount of knowledge they've worked so hard to learn in school (and believe me, we're expected to know a lot to pass the program. Over half my class had flunked out by the time we graduated and from what I've read, that's pretty common in a lot of nursing programs.) Also, LPN/RPN/LVN's and RN's are all nurses and are the only ones who can legally use the title of "nurse". The College of Nurses of Ontario says: The main differences between RN's and RPN's are educational preparation and limits of practice. All nursing students learn from the same basic body of nursing knowledge but RN's study it in greater depth and over a longer period of time and are able to provide care in more complex situations. This prepares RN's to autonomously care for clients with more complex and acute care needs. RPN education allows them to autonomously care for clients with stable and predictable care needs. Of course there's a ton of great information on these boards as well. I've been lurking around here for quite some time and have noticed there seems to be an answer to almost any nursing related question. I wish I'd known about this site when I was in school. If you haven't already, check out the "LPN Corner" for more insight and maybe the "Nursing Student Forums". There's plenty of nurses here more experienced than me that have given some great advice in every area imaginable. The reason I moved back to Ontario is b/c my husband is in the army and we were posted. I was glad to come back since we'd been in Alberta for 9 years and I really missed being here but now I miss Alberta too! Didn't think I would before I left, but I do. We lived in Suffield and Edmonton. Glad you're happy in Calgary. If there's any other questions, feel free to ask. Sue :)

Hi Erika, I graduated from a Practical Nursing program when I was in Alberta and am now back in Ontario as an RPN. I was like you and not sure which one to choose. I decided on the LPN program, thinking it would give me a taste of nursing and that way I could start working sooner and become an RN later. I was really surprised to find that the program was very intense with a great deal of material to learn in a short time. Before I'd started, I, (like so many other people, unfortunately) had assumed LPN's were basically nursing assistant's! Of course I know better now but, that being said, if I was going to do it over again I would definitely just become an RN right from the start. If you're going to put in the hard work anyway, you may as well get the benefits that comes with the designation of RN, even if you started with the RN diploma and worked on your degree later. The RN diploma program is not that much longer than it takes to become a Practical Nurse and it would definitely be worth it to you in the long run i.e more job opportunities, better pay, more respect etc. I wish I had just got the RN diploma in the first place and worked toward the degree at my own pace. Since it seems not much credit is given in Canada for Practical Nursing education (for some reason!) then I think it would actually be easier for you to go directly in to the RN program. I don't mean to sound like I'm against becoming a Practical Nurse. I'm really not if that's what someone truly wants to be, but since your goal is to become a Registered Nurse anyway, then I think you'd find it most beneficial to just go that route directly. Hope I've helped you a little. :) Sue

Hi mmarquis. When I graduated a few years ago I immediately got a position in the LTC facility where I'd done my clinicals. I was required to work all shifts. At that place, the shifts were 12 hours and (if I remember correctly) I worked something like 72 hours (6 shifts) per 2 week pay period. I wasn't crazy about the 12 hour shifts so I didn't stay there long. I was immediately able to get a position at a local hospital on a temporary part-time basis. My scheduled shifts were Sat. & Sun. 3-11pm every second weekend but I also worked there on a casual basis and they were always calling me in for extra shifts because the hospital was always short-staffed. I know that many of my classmates got part-time or casual positions and like me were always being called in to work extra shifts, especially in the bigger hospitals. The hospital where I worked was always posting available job positions (some full-time) but the positions were given in order of seniority of the applicants. If it was for a really undesirable shift then there were less people applying so of course, less competition. In my experience, you had to put in some time working casual/part-time before you got a permanent full-time position, but depending on where you work, you may be able to get full-time hours just by working casual. It may be easier to get a full-time spot in LTC, I'm not really sure. As for wages, I can't remember exactly but I believe I was making about 14.25/hr at the LTC place and 14.50 in the hospital. This was about 4-5 yrs. ago when I was in Alberta. The hospital job was union so I got $1.25 shift differential for working shifts between 3pm and 7am and if I worked shifts between 3pm Friday and 7am Monday I got another $1.50 on top of that. I eventually went to a clinic where I worked full-time days, no weekends, but the pay was only $12/hr. have you checked out Canada's Human Resources Job Bank or Workopolis.com ? I have noticed that many times wages are listed for various positions. Sorry this post is so long. I'm sure others will have even more info for you. Take care. :)