ltothew

I was hired into a specialty as a new grad but only because I started the specialty program, and paid for the first two theory courses while finishing my degree, and then they paid for the rest once I was hired.

I would definitely apply to all the medical surgical units in the lower mainland. They are always hiring new casuals for these floors. Especially in fraser health, and usually you get a lot of short calls. Also, walking into the units, speaking to an educator or manager can work well sometimes.

yes in BC it is RN only. edit: we are just about to start having LPN's work in post partum in the big health authorities in the lower mainland (with the exception of a smaller health auth downtown Vancouver which has LPNs already caring for with low risk post partum clients.

Its interesting because in BC on the L&D unit I work on most of the nurses have families, and many of them like the hours as it works better for having young kids, as you don't need daycare Monday-Friday, its more flexible. For Public Health (here at least) it is required that you have one year experience in post partum before applying, but public health is mon-fri, and no shift differentials, so you make less money (but that is not relevant for many people, only really if you have student loans at first). I mean i figure if you get into nursing you know you will do shift work, and will work some holidays etc

I would think if you had a BSN, passed the NCLEX, you can work in either country with some hoops to jump through. Definitely a need for rural nurses i know here in BC, northern BC nurses are highly sought after. If you are willing to work in a remote community there are many opportunities. It is probably easier to go through a recruiter who could set up the visa etc. :)

Nclex has both metric and imperial listed on the exam The NCLEX-RN items currently include both metric and imperial measurement options. Over the next two years, our transition process and the review by Canadian experts will ensure the appropriateness of terms used in the exam for both Canadian and American candidates, and that all writers of the NCLEX-RN in 2015 will be assessed based only on nursing competence, not his or her place of origin.

sorry i missed the looking for work part! Maybe going over your skills textbook again, and also if there are video and online components these would also be good. If you do get a job you can then talk to someone about practicing skills on a unit

Do you have clinical nurse educators on the units in Ontario? They would be a good resource if you do.

NICU accepts new grads outside of the esn/perceptorship program and is easier to get into!

Any luck finding a job yet? I hope so!

Yes (if you ESN there they will train you in NRP). Then you have to have the other two courses done on your own time. They will hire nurses (not new grads) from other maternity units that have done at least the 1st theory course, BF, NRP and have some experience. They basically only interview their esn or preceptors for new grad placements.

There are usually case studies, team questions, and emergency questions (emergency questions will relate to whatever type of unit) also some places may ask about CVCs and PICCs if they are surgical/medical, so make sure to read up on the unit. :)

you have to esn/preceptor there to get hired right away. You must have at least one theory course from bcit, and breastfeeding course at minimum as well as NRP. They only do two intakes a year, next one is september

Yes public health usually wants at least two years of experience. As for maternity, its sort of luck of the draw with preceptoring, they are either hiring or not unfortunately. I know of someone who did part of the specialty, and esned in mat, and no job. If thats what you really want you should ask for it...they usually have 1-2 placements in maternity.

I guess it depends where you live, in the lower mainland of BC, schools and hospitals could care less about tattoos, I know tons of nurses with visible tattoos.

Im not sure if you get a guaranteed line though once done? I think still casual unless you were hired into a line before the program.

I have "self sponsored" the first two theory courses (after this there are two clinicals, breastfeeding and fetal monitoring (one elective as well). The big difference is when a health authority sponsors you the courses are accelerated and done in one semester basically, and you are paid for full time hours while in school, then you have back to back clinicals you are also paid for. Fraser health has currently started cross training all postpartum nurses to be L&D nurses, as this is the way BC is going, they want everyone cross trained. Anyway, if you have not applied for the sponsorship (depending on what HA you work in) yet it wouldn't hurt to do so. Also connecting with a manager of a unit you want to work if possible. BC Womens is a bit different I believe, but you need to have breastfeeding courses, as well as Neonatal Resuscitation completed before applying.

There were many moms in my BSN program, quite a few of them single moms. They needed a lot of support from their families, and partners. In our program they appeared to make a lot of allowances for them, and took them into consideration when placing them. That being said you will be doing shift work, and lots of late nights with homework, its a heavy workload, manageable with support. Most people I know got hired in BC (lower mainland) upon graduation in the last year. It is especially helpful if you get an employed student nurse job, basically they look at it as a really long interview. Good luck :)

I know, its strange the scope is so different province to province! (sorry meant to quote!)

LPN's and RPN's have joined the BCNU this year, but I am not sure if they are happy about, hopefully it is helpful for them, it certainly makes for a stronger union. 4 years is a big commitment. They do max out, and Im sure they do overtime, but they are attempting to cut back on this for patient safety sake. You can start student nursing in third year, which is a unionized position and you acquire your seniority that rolls over once you are a RN, and is helpful for getting a job. Unfortunately (or fortunately lol) to get a position as a RN in most places you need extra specialty training. Yes, the health authorities will sponsor it eventually,but if you want to specialize right away, you have to begin paying for it, which is difficult. As a RN, you are ultimately responsible for making judgement calls for patients, which is to say if you work on a team with a LPN, their 4-5 pts are under your care in a roundabout way, as well your own 4-5 pts. You have to perform skills for those pts that the LPN cannot do (such as NG insertion, IV meds), and basically the LPN can look to your for some guidance if needed. I only speak for BC btw, not other provinces. Health care is definitely defer to the most responsible person if something is happening, and that is the RN when on the hospital units. So extra responsibility = getting paid more = being ultimately responsible. I can definitely speak to unit culture being a huge part of whether you like or dislike nursing, I have seen both good and bad units, but I found a really great one, and enjoy it for the most part. The wonderful thing about being a RN is there are many different types of opportunities as a nurse as you progress. Only you can really know if it is right for you, or worth the 4 years.

I know this is not ideal,but enrolling in a specialty course through BCIT, so you can add this to your resume, or when applying you can say you are taking it? I have found that this is almost the expectation when graduating from NS now, that you have some sort of specialty course. Of course applying to any med-surg postings, or maybe some of your classmates that have found jobs could give you managers emails, or phone numbers so you can contact them? good luck

I began working in social services and did it for 10 years before entering nursing. The biggest similarity is listening to peoples stories. This is something I have found in both careers. The SW burnout is usually with child protection, but at the same time social workers have large case loads and I believe they feel burn out due to not being able to listen to everyone, and do for everyone what they want to. THis can also be said about nursing just insert patient load. Nursing is harder physically as well (depending on what population you work with of course). Personally I enjoy nursing more for the most part, but thats just me :)

it seems like LPNs have a much wider scope of practice in Ontario, and seems like you would be able to work in many areas! You could probably take your pre-reqs at a community college even without your HS diploma, as a mature student.

I guess it depends what field of nursing you enter. If you want to specialize then it might be possible...and even then you would need seniority within that specialty (ie. working in a day surgery centre, working within perinatal clinics etc). Any clinics, chemo, radiology, oncology, occupational health etc. can have day hours monday to friday, but usually require more education and actual worked hours. :)

Not many job related activities except ESNing , maybe care aide, you have to have your school write a letter for it.