jgibeault

I'm sorry but I don't believe the situation is as dire as you make it out to be. People aren't holding jobs and getting zero shifts a month. I came to this site for advice and support not to be convinced not to be a nurse and how horrible and unjust nursing is. As nurses you should be supporting your students not giving them worst case examples that you haven't actually witnessed. It's not just in my thread but all of the threads here. In a response above you go off track complaining of the work environment and many other things that have nothing to do with what I asked. Stop trying to scare new grads its not nice!

Zero shifts a month? How is that even a job. Has that honestly ever happened to you? No pension at all? Wow that's pretty shocking.

Well it's understandable to want the work you do to reflect in pay and benefits. I've been in worse situations with my first degree though- BBA. I had half decently fun jobs but none of them would have afforded me the right to buy my own home. People really don't know what they are getting into until they pursue. Basically my standards aren't as high and I'd be happy to take any position in an area I wanted. But I have no ties so I will go the rural route if absolute need be.

So what does dropping to casual entail? Do you get full time hours? Is it on call? Are you working in Calgary?

are you unwilling to move to a more rural area to get a full time position?

Yeah I fully understand the concept that our economy is crap and health care is the first to go. Im ok with casual, temporary or anything for that matter just to get my foot in the door. Positions are available I guess I have to do something to stand out from the crowd in an exceptional way. If it comes down to choosing somewhere more rural I might just go as rural as I can and make as much money as possible while settling for a non ideal spot like fort Mac, up north or Labrador. The colder spots lol. There aren't many job posting online at all right now for AHS new grads. I dunno I feel reading through the threads there is a lot of talk about the impossibility of getting a job, yet 99% of people responding currently have an RN job. Not to mention the many RNs I know that have jobs. I do appreciate the advice and your probably right but I am hopeful regardless.

Has anyone heard of the program I spoke of above?

I contacted AHS through email, so I guess it is in writing. They informed me of a program called candidate relationship management, and told me to contact them 60 days before I graduate, and that they would add me to the program? Ugh how stressful to see such crappy job prospects. Went through this already once before with my first degree. I don't personally know any RNs that arent working full time but maybe thats because of where I'm from. Many are casual but they get their hours and assure me that it won't be a problem. I still have a year and a half to go so maybe things will be a bit brighter by then, although I can't see expenditure on health care increasing.

Thanks, I just read a thread and see what you mean. I don't get why AB health would bs me though.

Why would you tell a current student that it will be extremely hard to find a job? My friend who's a 4th year hasn't graduated yet and was offered a full time position the other day which she is accepting. Can you explain why it's so difficult to obtain a full time job when nursing is in demand? I have about 25 friends who are RNs and they all have jobs.. Just not in locations I'm interested in.

Hello All, I am new to this forum, although I have checked it out a few times before registering myself. Happy to have some fellow nursing peeps to look to for advice and guidance! I am currently doing the BN fast track program in a remote area in Canada and I am itching to get out of here. I am so unhappy where I am, and have even contemplated dropping out of school so that I can go after the life I want, but I can't bring myself to do that because nursing is extremely interesting to me and my only regret is that I didn't chose this as my first degree..would have saved a lot of time and money! Anyways, my question is: how hard is it to obtain a position in a city in Canada with little to no work experience, besides the work experience I obtain in school. I am worried I will have to work at the hospital in my area for a while and I would really rather not. I am looking at moving to Calgary or Toronto and I'm wondering the likelihood of having a job lined up for when I graduate. I emailed Alberta Health and spoke with a rep there and they said nurses are in demand so it shouldn't be a problem, but I was wondering if people could provide advice/ experience on this matter. Thanks Julie