FreeSoul

Hello fellow nurses. I am an RN, I live in Toronto and I currently have a PT outpatient position that I am trying to leave (toxic work environment etc...). I have been applying regularly to every suitable PT outpt position in Toronto and the GTA but I did not receive any call for an interview, for one year now. I have > 15 years of nursing experience, both hospital and outpatient, all my certifications (ACLS, PALS, etc...) are up to date. I cannot understand why. Am I too senior and hence too expensive to get hired? My resume is customized to the Job Description and sometimes I even throw in a custom cover letter. I know the job market has been tight, but is it that tight? Is this a seniority issue? Is it ageism? Do I need to take courses? My nursing technical skills (IV's, wound care, etc... are all solid). Please help, I feel stuck! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone. Off topic a bit, but I am not sure where to post. I am an RN based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. > 16 years nursing experience, inpatient and outpt, including ER. Very experienced with PIVs, no PICC insertion experience (I only access and troubleshoot..). I am very interested in PICC line insertion training. I have many questions, if someone please could be kind enough to help guide me, I will be more than grateful. Where can I get training for that? I see few options online, some are extensive for 3 months, some are for 1 day! What is credible and what is not? And where can I get a preceptor who would be willing to take me under their wing until I am confident and on my own? The place where I work is part of a big hospital but it is a toxic work environment and non-supportive (I am planning to leave once I find something else). Any guidance that is area-specific is more than appreciated. Thank you.

Oh dear ... Normally I am not big on commenting but when I read the words of this male nurse, I couldn't help. So the perpetrator has the audacity to criticize the victim. Dear, we live in a male-dominated world, in any profession, let alone healthcare! I have been nursing for 10 years in various settings from hospital to community to international work and I can confidently tell you, in ANY of these settings, if I cut my hair and become a male, I would 1) earn more respect 2) earn more money and 3) only need to work half as hard as my female colleague to prove myself. Just because I posed as someone who has a `p.n.s` Nice eh? I have been the head of unions on my units, I have teamed up with nurses, we spent endless time filling workload forms, we complained, we "put our foot down" but hey, it's a male-dominated world. I even see it among the doctors, the female ER physician is always criticized for any error she made while for a male physician, there is always a lame excuse, hey, his workload is high, or hey, it happens. You are a male and you are new in the profession, therefore the above is really hard for you to comprehend, but I would love you to write back to us if you consider posing as a prop for 1 month as a female nurse, I would like you to tell us how things have changed for you. Also remember, you are paid well as a nurse (let alone that you are paid more than your female counterparts simply bec you happen to be a male) because the same female nurses you deemed passive and backstabbing have teamed up sometime before (when you were still in middle school) and demanded that. They fought a lot of ugly battles, they got harassed, assaulted, and many of them lost their jobs because they stood up for what's right. But they did it and got us a better pay and more respect. We still have a long way to go, and we shall continue to fight our fight, not for people like you, but for the sanctity and sanity of this great profession of ours. So every time you cash your nice paycheck, don't you forget that. You owe the profession an apology.