NBolas

Hello there! I haven't browsed this forum for years so I thought it was sending me spam when I got this notification. Thank you for bringing me back to this moment in time. A heck of a lot has happened since then so I can actually provide an update. TLDR, I made the change and I feel it was an excellent decision. One month after making this thread, I was accepted into the nursing program at U of Calgary. Because of my previous degree, I was able to do an accelerated 2 year program and graduated with my RN in Dec 2018. When I graduated, the job market was poor. All of my colleagues worked casually because there were no permanent positions available. Fast forward to today, that landscape has changed drastically, at least in British Columbia where I work. Jobs are plentiful and even new grads have a shot at some of the more desirable nursing roles now. I do not use my research experience in my nursing role and, frankly, I don't miss it. The most I do is read a few articles on certain treatments to improve my own understanding, but I discovered front line nurses have no real influence on policy and procedure. One of the greatest advantages of nursing is just how diverse the field is. When I first graduated, I worked on a general medical ward and did everything. After a year or so, I decided I no longer wanted to do night shifts, so I moved to a job with no nights. Then I decided I don't want to clean up poop anymore, so I got a job with no poop. Then I decided I don't want to work weekends either.... so now I work weekdays, day shift, no poop. If you love patients, pick a patient-facing role. If you realize you really don't like people, get a desk job. There is a nursing role for everybody. The flexibility was one of the reasons I went into nursing school confident that there will be a job suitable for me in the future. Nursing is also widely applicable and you can relocate easily should you choose to do so. As you know from research, the pay is downright unfair. You spend 4-6 years in grad school then do multiple post docs for a CHANCE at a job, all for a paycheck that is slightly above minimum wage when you divide the yearly salary by the actual number of hours spent working (reading articles, writing, editing, making posters, grading papers, all after regular lab hours). Then you can lose that job if you miss a grant. No thank you. Aside from the decent paycheck, I also have a defined benefit pension plan and a robust benefit package. I get 21 days of paid vacation per year, paid sick time, fully paid massages, medications, dental visits, physio, travel insurance etc. I really cannot complain about the compensation. Nursing does have its dark sides. You'll see a lot of suffering, family dynamics, entitlement, trauma. You will see the nicest people get the most devastating diagnoses. You'll see a young child lose their mother to cancer in one room, then in the next room a drug user is complaining that his toast doesn't have enough butter. Patients will die and you'll think it's your fault even when it's not. You need mental fortitude to thrive as a nurse, at least early on in your career when you're in the trenches. All in all, I'm happy with my decision. I work in a great area of nursing now. If I didn't leave research, I'd probably be on my 3rd or 4th post-doc trying to get a faculty position, making less than half what I'm making now with worse work-life balance. Hope this helps a little bit in your decision making!

Hello! I graduated in Dec 2018/Jan 2019 from the accelerated program 1. I was hired onto the unit where I did my preceptorship. I got a casual position to start. 2. Yes, I work at one of the major AHS hospitals in Calgary. 3. Everyone I talked to found work either immediately (if they work on the unit their did their preceptorship) or within 6 months if they were moving to other units/cities/provinces etc. Aside from hospitals, I know of colleagues who decided to go into home care, work for companies (e.g. occupational health), public health, clinics. 4. It's likely easier to get a job rurally, but I don't know of anyone who was forced to move in order to get a job. I had colleagues who went to rural towns because they were originally from there. I've heard of people going to high river, drumheller, milk river, grand prairie, Canmore (but Canmore is competitive). When I graduated, if you're OK with starting casually, you could find a job at a major hospital. I know the situation is different now with potential funding cuts and COVID, but eventually, people will need nurses and jobs will be available.

Hi, I graduated 6 month ago and landed a job on a busy surgical unit 2 month ago. I've had 6 independent shifts and I struggled through them. I'm making errors (some due to not knowing how things work since I switched provinces... others due to carelessness) and my manager wants to put me on a learning plan. I'm terrified of eventually making an error that will harm a patient. I just don't think acute care is for me. I have a few questions. 1. If I quit 2 months in, how bad does that look for my next employer? Is it better to suffer through my current job, potentially making errors, to avoid a redflag on the resume? 2. What are some alternatives to acute care nursing for a new grad? I love nursing, but I'm not good at rushing to get tasks done. Is there something that fits this? Thank you!

Got accepted last week via the degree holder route! I believe my GPA is around 3.9 according to they way they calculate it.

Nice to meet you! Degree holder route. Good luck on your applications!

Hi, recently we had a discussion in class about which actions constitute boundary crossing or violations. The class was divided on a few scenarios, and I'm wondering whether anyone here can shed some light... Is it boundary crossing or violation if you provide your work phone number to a client so they can contact you if they need something during your shift, even though you are not normally assigned to the client? Is it boundary crossing or violation if you join a social club (example, a book club) that a client recommended to you? Thanks!

Hi all! Just like to meet all the potential applicants here. Have you applied already?

The best way is to show them your transcript (scanned and emailed, screenshot, mail etc.) and ask them which courses are transferrable.

It does take a bit of time, so don't worry. Do you see the green circle that says everything has been received? Just keep checking back on your account =)

Hi no-scrubs, For me, my study style is to read the textbook according to the study guide and verbally review the chapter. I find that talking out loud to myself helps the most. That being said, you may have a completely different way of learning, so use whatever works for you. For points that are unclear or confusing, I recommend using the rich resources available on Youtube... there are a lot of anatomy tutorials and lectures there

I'm 30 and I am just starting my RN program (in a week actually). Don't worry about your age!

I'm planning to transit as well, but I would have a car just in case since they did mention that some sites can be tough to get to. Car 2 Go doesn't seem as reliable here as it is in BC. Also, awesome to know that there will be another BC person in the program!

If there's anything I learned from my previous degree, it's to hold off on buying textbooks until the courses actually start. I've probably lost $1k in total buying books that were never used.

I replied to you on another post, but I'll post it here again I completed the BIO 235 program this summer. It is a very content-heavy course and my suggestion would be to adhere strictly to the Study Guide, as the midterms and finals do not go beyond the required material. This is especially important for the second half of the course where the memorization ramps up. For the midterms and finals, know the diagrams in the textbook very well. Often times you'll see the exact same diagram on the exam. Some of the questions on the quiz ask for specific details (details I often glance over when studying), so be familiar with where things are in the textbook. They designed the quizzes to be "open book" so some questions require a bit of digging around. I agree that the communication is lacking in this course. They basically said "read this book, take these tests. That'll be $1500." However, do try hard for the assignments, as the person who marked mine expected extensive detail. For the first assignment I wrote a paragraph for each short answer question, which landed me a grade in the mid-80s. For the second assignment I decided to go all out and include as much detail as I could... a couple of my answers were in fact 500+ word essays. That landed me a score in the mid-90s. Feel free to ask if you have further questions. Best of luck!

I completed the BIO 235 program this summer. It is a very content-heavy course and my suggestion would be to adhere strictly to the Study Guide, as the midterms and finals do not go beyond the required material. This is especially important for the second half of the course where the memorization ramps up. For the midterms and finals, know the diagrams in the textbook very well. Often times you'll see the exact same diagram on the exam. Some of the questions on the quiz ask for specific details (details I often glance over when studying), so be familiar with where things are in the textbook. They designed the quizzes to be "open book" so some questions require a bit of digging around. I agree that the communication is lacking in this course. They basically said "read this book, take these tests. That'll be $1500." However, do try hard for the assignments, as the person who marked mine expected extensive detail. For the first assignment I wrote a paragraph for each short answer question, which landed me a grade in the mid-80s. For the second assignment I decided to go all out and include as much detail as I could... a couple of my answers were in fact 500+ word essays. That landed me a score in the mid-90s. Feel free to ask if you have further questions. Best of luck!