AnonymousLPN

Add me to the grossed out by trachs club. Don't like doing bed baths either. They are tedious. People always want them in the morning when I am trying to pass 0800 and 1000 meds.

Sputum. What I hate most though, is the anxiety. Nursing is a 2nd career for me and I haven't been at it long enough to feel comfortable. Every shift I wonder if this will be the shift when I make a simple human error and harm someone with meds; injure someone because I am not strong enough or am doing something that really requires two people but no one else is available to help and the patient has to go "right now"; will I make a simple comment that a family or patient misconstrues or takes out of context and find myself in the manager's office accused of the unforgivable sin of insulting a patient; will I have to call a physician and misunderstand what they say causing a huge mistake.

Just curious...I have six years of university education (non-nursing) and I am an LPN. So where do I fit in in terms of "2 extra years in university teach you to think differently"? As I have six years, does that mean I am an LPN who thinks like an RN? Or do I just think differently? On a serious note... as I see it my province is broke. So are most of the other provinces. We are so deep in debt, it can never realistically be paid off. Additionally, we have an aging population with fewer people to pay the bill for the services required by the older generations. These older generations are living longer and using more services during their retirement years (they are pay less taxes into the system during those retirement years). The bills keep piling up with and those of us working and paying taxes are reaching the point where we simply are maxed out in the amount of taxes we pay. Something has to give. As such, health care services will be reduced and health care workers will be cut and paid less. It is a reality. It sucks for all of us. RNs are currently at the top of the nursing pay scale so they will be hit hardest with the LPNs gradually seeing the effects as well. It would be nice if the politicians had the ethics to cut their own salaries, benefits, retirements, and perks first. However, we all know that ain't gonna happen. When we fight each other, the politicians laugh while further lining their own pockets at our expense. If you really want to make changes; if you really want to secure the future for RNs as well as LPNs then as nurses we should be banding together to demand politicians make honest and responsible choices and stretch our health care dollars in the most effective and efficient manor.

Our school required ATI and used it throughout the program. I did ATI practice questions and glanced at a few sections in Saunders. Passed on first try with 85 questions (LPN) and found the NCLEX easier than expected.

For the nurse aid/direct care skills at the beginning of our PN program, we had clinicals in an ALF where 90% of the residents needed little or no ADL assistance. We complained that we were getting no hands on experience from this clinical: no bed baths to give or occupied beds to change. We were told not to worry about it because as LPNs we'd be going into LTC and have nurse aides to do the direct care. The remainder of the program was equally inept. However, the school has something like a 95% NCLEX-PN pass rate. I never did a single bed bath in nursing school. But I passed the NCLEX on the first try. And that is really all that mattered to them.

The wait is agonizing. For those still waiting, I wish you all the best.

Often it is "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" by the Pet Shop Boys Previous job theme was "I Hate Everything" by George Strait: "I hate my job And I hate my life And if it weren't for my two kids I'd hate my ex-wife" I don't miss that job at all.

What about the LPN route? I went to a LPN program with many people who had children including single moms. Being a technical school, it was much cheaper and many classmates were able to get financial aid. Also, our program was primarily nights/weekends and designed for people who wanted/needed to work while going to school. You can work as an LPN while bridging to RN? My first marriage ended over one of us going back for a Masters while the other resented all the extra responsibility and financial burden. If both spouses are not committed, you might get a nursing degree but you could also lose a marriage.

I grew up in the Southern US. Yes/no sir and yes/no ma'am. And you never address an elder by their first name. Now that I live in Canada, people almost seemed offended if I say sir/ma'am. I try to explain that it was a habit bred in to me over many years. and it is meant to be a show of respect. I'm curious for French or Spanish speaking nurses would you address your patients in the familiar Tu or would you always use the formal Vous?

If this is a for-profit facility I would have to ask if management would also be taking a comparable pay cut Or would the sacrifice fall solely on the direct care staff while the Executive Director chuckled as they drive off in their Mercedes?

My spouse and several friends/former co-workers are diploma RNs. Best nurses I know. Their education was based on clinical experience. I went to a LPN program with a high NCLEX pass rate. However, the school would literally cancel clinicals so we could focus on the ATI practice tests as the ATI tests were our key to passing the NCLEX. I have to say I passed the NCLEX first try and didn't find it to be that difficult primarily because I'd done so many ATI questions which are so similar to NCLEX. I was taught to pass the NCLEX. Clinical experience was a second priority. I had one good instructor. Some mediocre instructors and one instructor who had a nervous breakdown at a clinical site. I can deal with that as I believe that getting the information was my responsibility. What I begrudge the school is not giving me the clinical experience that I should have received. From what I'd heard from others and witnessed on this board it is the clinical experience that is lacking in many programs.

Others will probably be able to give your better information than I. However, based on my experiences you will only qualify as a LPN if you don't have a Bachelors. You will probably have to do a Substantive Equivalency assessment and write the CPNRE (I am a US educated LPN and had to do those things but I should also point out that I am in the Maritimes and not Ontario and am surmising about the rules in Ontario). The process took a year and was NOT cheap. The medical exam was over $400 per person and they don't tell you the results. As such, you can pay the huge application fee to Canadian immigration only to be denied based on the medical results the details of which were not disclosed to you. I love Canada and love my Canadian spouse. I'd definitely do it all over again. However, it is a very long and very expensive process with no guarantees. Think long and hard over how much you are willing to pay and how much risk you are willing to take.

You're in Florida? This is the summer. Hiring usually picks up for the season. If you can hang on a few more months, the job situation should improve as Northern visitors and snowbirds fracture bones and have to come to facilities for rehab. This will create the need for more nurses. I'm not sure if it would make a difference if you state in your cover letter that you would happily consider a temporary position for "snowbird season". The facility might be more willing to consider you if they know they don't have to worry about what to do with you when census starts dropping when the Northerners head home. You might want to checks into ALFs. They usually have Med Techs for med pass, but have a nurse on staff for the things Med Techs can't do such as insulin injections.

If they came as PR then they have to be in Canada for at least two years out of every five. If not, the PR status is lost. Was anyone in the family born in Canada or the child of a Canadian citizen?

Nova Scotia here. Results came in the mail today. Happily, for me they were good results. I've never been so unsure of a standardized test before the CPNRE. I'm from the States and took the NCLEX. I left that exam feeling quite confident. I've had no confidence over the CPNRE. I actually woke up this morning from a nightmare in which my spouse opened the envelope and told me I'd failed. It was one of those nightmares that seemed so real it took me a few moments to realize it was only a dream.

I did NOT post this article to encourage a debate over the worthiness of IENs. I posted it because I am amazed that the government thinks there is a nursing shortage when this message board is filled with comments relating to the lack of jobs.

CONGRATULATIONS pikina87!

According to CBC this morning, the government is including RNs and LPNs on a list of occupations eligible for fast track immigration due to a shortage of available Canadian workers. Given all of the threads and discussion about the lack of jobs for nurses one can only wonder where the governments gets the idea that there is a shortage. http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/skilled-immigrants-recruited-in-50-occupations-ahead-of-express-entry-launch-1.2673822 The government is offering express entry to 25,000 immigrants in certain occupations. To quote the article: The list of occupations includes Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses. How the heck, with all the threads here about lack of jobs, did our illustrious government conclude that RNs and LPNs are an occupation with a critical labour shortage that can't be filled by Canadian workers.

When we moved I thought I'd have no problem getting my license. The requirement was to have graduated from an approved nursing program. I'm from the US so thought my program would certainly be approved (my spouse and many of our friends are Canadian educated nurses who came to the US for nursing jobs and had no problem getting nursing licenses in our state as well as other parts of the US. I thought the favour would be repaid likewise by Canada). I was informed that my program was 150 theory hours too short. The College of Nurses made me go back and take one more nursing class before giving me a license. What I had expected to be a quick an easy process turned into almost a year and a half and over a thousand dollars in tuition/textbooks. (The process also included a long delay due to a filing error at the College of Nursing). Like jam_bv15 said, start the process as soon as you can. And as I advised in an earlier post, plan financially for things not going according to plan. I sure never planned on not being able to work as a nurse for a year and a half. Lesson learned the hard and expensive way.

Always keep a Sharpie marker on your person for things like dating bottles when opened. Never leave the Sharpie on the cart as it will disappear. It is amazing how much time you can lose looking for little things. If your MARS are paper keep extra pens in your pockets. Again so much time looking for where did I put my %&$ pen?!? I can't agree enough with the person who said to stay on good terms with your CNAs. Give them a hand when you can. They can make or break you.

The only way I pass meds to 40 patients, do treatments, chart and get out on time is to clone myself.

When we decided to move from the US to Canada, my spouse had to renew her Ontario license. She went through some thing similar in that they kept saying they never received stuff. The process took almost a year. Someone finally figured out that they had filed her last name wrongly. Somewhere along the line a clerical person reversed two letters and Glad became Gald. So just make sure that your papers aren't sitting somewhere filed under an incorrectly spelled last name.

I also did our immigration paperwork myself (spousal sponsorship). It is mostly self explanatory. There are also several internet forums of people who have been through the process or are going through it. They offer lots of advice as well as help and support each other. Just Google for Canadian immigration forums. It is a lengthy process and not cheap. Be prepared to wait and be prepared for unexpected expenses as you move and resettle.

Do most pts know or care about the Magnet status? When we lived in Florida most people knew about Magnet schools which were schools located in bad neighborhoods but given special programs like art or IT programs in order to get kids from other areas to come to school in the bad neighborhood (one school even gave free laptops to every kid to get them to come to the school in a hellish 'hood). Ask people about a Magnet hospital and I bet most would just assume that meant it was in the 'hood. Most people just go to whichever hospital their doctor directs them to go or whichever is closest to their home. As such, Magnet always just seemed a huge waste to me. Patients could care less, it doesn't bring in more patients and it diverts money away from areas where it could be put to much better use. The suits THINK Magnet makes them look good and like the Emperors they are, continue to trot around sans clothes.

Forgive me, but I believe that remark was totally unnecessary. Years of one's life and thousands of dollars were invested in education which culminates in one 180 question test. Many of us have a lot riding on the outcome including job offers and the ability to provide for our families. I believe the remark about suing the school was made in jest to relieve a little stress during an interminable five week wait. It was not necessary to insult the person by implying that they expected to be "spoon fed" their education.