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To be honest, your best bet is to ACE your consolidating placement. Start talking to the manager and even if they're not hiring now who's to say they won't be hiring 2 months from the time you hand out your resume.

It's still similar to a regular hiring process 1) you apply for an HFO - nggi position, 2) possibly go for an interview and, if it's successful you'll 3) possibly land a job for 6 months guaranteed. There's a lot of nursing graduates coming from different schools, so it is highly competitive. Just keep applying everywhere and don't just rely on new graduate guarantee. I think one of my mistakes as a pre-grad is that I didn't start applying in February, so start applying NOW. I find that most hospitals and health care institutions have a lot of posting between January till April-May. It was really difficult for me to find a job in the summer. Another challenge I found during the job search process is that there seems to be a lot of postings but those posting require you to have X amount of experience or X certificate to work on these units (which I currently found out that taking these courses weren't mandated, so technically you don't have to take them to be hired. It's up to your employer's discretion if they want you to take it). There's a lot of options to choose from but it might not be something you like at first. Right now, I'm working outside of the GTA. My plan is to do 1 year here and go back to the GTA once I'm semi-comfortable with the nursing skills I've acquired. I wish to move sooner but I have OSAP to pay back and rent is cheaper here than the GTA. I'm also looking towards attaining certification on a nursing specialty so that I can apply to those jobs after my one year of experience.

I saw somewhere that they have an nursing residency program for Mental Health. http://www.beamentalhealthnurse.ca

Yea, I remember you said you're tired of working OT. Wow, good for you =). Keep up the good work.

WHOA Joanna... wow, have you been doing a lot of OTs?

What do you mean by "inconsistent hours"? Most nurses in the field are on rotation. What's inconsistent with being on rotation?

Are you just looking into hospitals? Why not try nursing homes or subacute areas or clinics? It's worth a try. I have friends that are working nursing homes while they look for a hospital job.

On the letter sent by the CNO usually tells you how you did for each main competencies for those people who did not do well. I suggest that you take a look at both of the previous letters from CNO and see which competency you did not do well on and concentrate on those areas. Overall when answering CRNE prep questions, you should be asking yourself "What's wrong with this patient?" and then pick an answer. Then look up the answer at the back and try to relate it back to the question. It's not all about just knowing the answer but trying to relate the answer back to the question.

Say things out loud or talk to yourself in the mirror. Start with the least evasive procedure, etc.

I think you mean second entry BScN program. There's no such thing as entry level master's program in nursing. Which province/territory are you located?

I don't understand why they asked either, but they did ask. But I disagree about it giving you a leg up... maybe you were just good at interviewing and selling your skills to your manager? I know many people who took the ACLS and still haven't landed a job, ED or med/surg. It also depends on when you got the position because there are "hiring seasons." If you happen to miss the hiring season, then you're out of luck whether you have the ACLS or you don't have the ACLS. I've got a recruiter tell me I can't apply to their ED unless I consolidated in ED... I showed her that I have taken initiative in my learning by taking the ACLS and she still said she prefers experience over the certification. I'm not telling this individual NOT take the ACLS, I'm just making him/her aware that you're taking a chance and that it doesn't give you a leg up. By all means, if you want to take it--go ahead. Now if you did your consolidation in ED or CCU and you get the ACLS, now that's a different story. However, I will agree with you in regards to Coronary Care 1... take it if you're really interested in going to CCU, ICU or ED.

If you want a wide variety of placements to "chose" from... I would say UofT. A lot of the hospitals/health care facilities in downtown Toronto seem to have a soft spot for UofT student nurses. They get dibs on placements all the freakin' time! I'm not hating though since UofT is a force to be reckon with in regards to medical research or research in general. So it's expected for their affiliated hospitals to "teach" their students. A nurse is a nurse; therefore, it doesn't matter what school you graduate from as long as 1) you pass the CRNE 2) keep up with the work and 3) just be a sponge throughout your whole career. edit: That's only if you're interested in moving to TO. I'm not sure about other programs. As to YorkU. hmmm... not a big fan for personal reasons lol. Not the program itself...

1. since ubc and bcit both need at least 2 years of post secondary(30 or 60 credit) before applying to nursing program then which program you recommend to go first? i know that bcit recommend psychology but what about ubc? for each school look at which subjects they require you to have. e.g., how many bio, chem, psy credits do you need to be eligible to apply. 2.is it a good idea to take psychology in ubc then transfer to bcit's nursing? if not then which college/university you guys recommend? no, because each university will only accept a certain amount of credits from another university even if the course you took in ubc is similar to the one in the other school you're contemplating to transfer to. also each university has their own set of admission requirements. remember, universities are businesses... they have to make money somehow. so if you decide to transfer from one school to another, you'll probably loose 1 year. not to mention all the paper work and red tape. 3. i was thinking to go to langara but langara is no longer accepting any application for nursing program this year. is it a good idea if i work for a year and go back to school after? (to earn more money and experience by volunteer at a hospital) well it depends on what you feel like doing. if you think it's good for you to "feel out" the health care setting before you invest in becoming a nurse, then do so. would i personally do it? no, but that's just me. 4. other than those college/university i mentioned above is there any other college/university that have good nursing program? good luck!

Lol Fiona, thanks for pointing out that most Canadians measure distance in hours. I just noticed that now.

I think it was joanna73 who said don't get the AB license before you get a job offer. Just say that you're eligible on your resume.