RPN Wages in Ontario

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 14, 2011

Your take-home pay would be roughly 35% less than your gross pay. That covers taxes, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, union dues and your benefits package. So your example of $4000 a month would work out closer to $2600 in your pocket. But you're not going to be paid for 160 hours a month. Full time will be more like 150 hours because your meal breaks are not paid hours. 150 hours a month @ $25 an hour = $3750 (~$2435 in hand) plus any shift differentials you'd have earned, such as evening, night, weekend or statutory holiday.

airgoc · Jun 15, 2011

janfrn said:
Your take-home pay would be roughly 35% less than your gross pay. That covers taxes, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, union dues and your benefits package. So your example of $4000 a month would work out closer to $2600 in your pocket. But you're not going to be paid for 160 hours a month. Full time will be more like 150 hours because your meal breaks are not paid hours. 150 hours a month @ $25 an hour = $3750 (~$2435 in hand) plus any shift differentials you'd have earned, such as evening, night, weekend or statutory holiday.

Thank you very much ? Not paid meal breaks grr,here in Croatia I get meals for free and I can ask for encore(just have luck ,our chef always prepare too much food ) ,and it is paid while I chew:lol2:

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 15, 2011

airgoc said:
Thank you very much ? Not paid meal breaks grr,here in Croatia I get meals for free and I can ask for encore(just have luck ,our chef always prepare too much food ) ,and it is paid while I chew:lol2:

HA! That'd be the day here!! Not only are we not paid for our meal breaks but IF there's an onsite source for hot meals, they charge us $7-10 for them. None of it is fresh and the quality isn't all that great either.

airgoc · Jun 15, 2011

That is not so great:eek:,how much does it cost to prepare sandwich for yourself?:)

Here in hospitals meals in canteen are usually around 4-7$ and salary is 850-1000$ . But of course in mine little crazy state hospital we have 12h shifts which means free breakfast ,lunch, brunch and dinner ,and colleague of mine usually takes a meal for her dog haha !

Do you have opportunities to advance through some courses or it is just lpn and than rn level ?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 15, 2011

I pack food for the whole day before I leave the house. I work 12 hour shifts too, so that means hauling three meals a day. But I work with a number of people who always eat cafeteria food. Bleaaah!

There are lots of courses nurses can partake of where I live. PNs can take the operating room tech and dialysis tech courses. RNs can take any number of subspecialty courses, ICU courses and so on. I'm certified in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, continuous renal replacement therapy, Berlin heart, pediatric advanced life support and critical care. None of them give me any additional income though.

jay_j · Sep 24, 2011

hi! i'm a RN in Philippines and have been in Ontario for the past month. I've already started with my RN assessment with CNO. presently, I only lack the BET. i seem to have difficulty finishing it. Anyway, I can finish and submit it to them if i put my mind and more time to it (which i intend to do before October ends).

i'm posting this coz I have been in this site for quite a while now and i have learned that a lot of Filipino RNs who come here and register for RN are almost always required to do bridging program for 1-2 years. that's something i can't afford to do especially when i moved here alone and no one else to support me. however, there are a VERY FEW who were given the eligibility to take the exam after assessment (they didn't necessarily have Master's degree or more than 10 years experience. some didn't even have any nursing experience). there's really no telling what and how CNO makes their decision.

not to be pessimistic, but i'd like to expect for the worst and get the negative assessment result of doing bridging program first. which is why i am strongly having the feeling of need to register for RPN very soon. most RN Filipinos who have migrated here have gone the same path. apparently, as a RN in Philippines, you'd be given grant to take the RPN exam without having to do bridging program anymore. A few have registered for both RPN and RN at the same time. the only thing i would lose with this choice is money since i'll have to pay for RPN assessment fee too.

i guess i just don't want to waste any more time. for me, i'd like to think that at least i'd be working as a RPN and have Canadian experience while i work my way to being a RN instead of just earning a minimum wage with my present job now.

any ideas and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

thank you!

mrz_gem · Oct 11, 2011

hi..i am also an RN from the philippines...hopefully in God's grace, i be in toronto with a PR visa..i would just like to ask you, what is BET??..is it better to take english test here in the philippines or there in canada?..can my volunteer nurse certificate be used by the CNO as part of the 1,125hours of nursing safe practice or you must be a staff nurse?? do they honor volunteer nurse certificate??...if u take, RPN first, how long do u have to study for the course and how much is the tuition for it?? or can i just take the RPN program exam right away since i am an RN nurse??....lastly, how much does an RPN makes like comparison between RPN n hospitals and elderly homes??...pls pls do enlighten me how to get about in toronto..i want to prepare everything that is needed to be done prior to my arrival der, in God's grace...PLS DO HELP!...God bless you always! May GOd bless you abundantly!:)...

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Oct 11, 2011

mrz_gem said:
hi..i am also an RN from the philippines...hopefully in God's grace, i be in toronto with a PR visa..i would just like to ask you, what is BET??

BET is the Baccalaureate Equivalency Table. Ontario was the only province in Canada using such an assessment tool and has recently discarded it. Applicants are now rewuired to obtain transcripts from their school of nursing and have them submitted to CNO directly from the school, as is the practice in all the other provinces.

mrz_gem said:
..is it better to take english test here in the philippines or there in canada?

You can take the exam wherever it's convenient for you. However the exam must be either IELTS or CELBAN and the results must be submitted directly from the testing agency.

mrz_gem said:
..can my volunteer nurse certificate be used by the CNO as part of the 1,125hours of nursing safe practice or you must be a staff nurse?? do they honor volunteer nurse certificate??

Volunteer nursing usually doesn't count unless the volunteer is performing all the same activities that an employed nurse would be doing in that situation. For example, spending four hours a day at a nursing home feeding people is not specifically a nursing activity while passing medications, providing treatments and performing dressing changes are. Another example is the nurse who volunteers for a medical mission to a third-world country where they perform all the same activities they do in their paid employment, such as pre-operative screening, intraoperative nursing, critical care nursing and post-operative care. This kind of volunteer nursing counts.

mrz_gem said:
...if u take, RPN first, how long do u have to study for the course and how much is the tuition for it?? or can i just take the RPN program exam right away since i am an RN nurse??

You should not have to take a practical nursing program if you are already an RN, but are unable to meet the requirements for registration as an RN. What you need is authorization from the College of Nurses to write the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam (CPNRE). This means that they have evaluated your education and experience and determined that they meet minimum requirements to function as a practical nurse in Ontario. (You need to be aware that only Ontario calls practical nurses RPNS. All other provinces call them LPNs or licensed practical nurses. In western Canada, RPNs are Registered Psychiatric Nurses. This is a very important distinction.) IF you should have to take a practical nursing course, the full-time program is 2 years. Tuition for an international student will be about $12.500CDN.

mrz_gem said:
....lastly, how much does an RPN makes like comparison between RPN n hospitals and elderly homes??

First year RNs in Ontario are paid $29.36 per hour, plus shift differentials while practical nurses start at $20.51 an hour. There are 9 steps on each pay scale, meaning that to reach the top of the scale a person must work 8 years of full time hours, with a raise at the end of each year of full time hours until one reaches the top. then the only raises are those provided for through collective bargaining.

mrz_gem said:
...pls pls do enlighten me how to get about in toronto..i want to prepare everything that is needed to be done prior to my arrival der, in God's grace...PLS DO HELP!...God bless you always! May GOd bless you abundantly!:)...

Toronto is the largest city in Canada. It covers 243 square miles of this Earth... more land than 25 countries and principalities. It has a pretty efficient public transit system. Getting a transit map would be a good place to start. You'll have to plan your movements around the city and allow plenty of time to get where you're going. And you need to be aware that the cost of living in Toronto is the highest of any city in the country. Only Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal come close.

talaibon · Nov 22, 2011

I'm registered practical nurse in Toronto, I'm still looking for RPN jobs (almost 7mos here still no jobs). Any suggestions....Help me..

Glimpsethepast · Nov 22, 2011

Hello, good for you and keep up the great work in achieving your goals! I have been an RPN since 1984. I work on a surgical unit in a general hospital located about 4 hours north of Toronto. Been at the same job since I graduated. I make a base wage of $28.00 per hour. BUT when I work the night rotation which is every two weeks and when I work weekends which is every second week my wage increases to approx. $32.00 an hour. I get FULL benefits, more benefits than I could ever possibly use unless I or my family gets seriously ill. Hope this helps a bit. Being an RPN is extremely rewarding. I highly recommend it! (Incidently when I started at the hospital I was making $8.00 an hour and was only casual 'call in'. It took about 3 years before I got on as a perm. part time with 3 shifts per week. Took another 5 YEARS to get fulltime. BUT that was then, back in the day when RPNs were considered glorified bed bathers. Today RPNs are sought after...LOTS of jobs! :nurse:

rpnsarah · Feb 29, 2012

I work at a hospital in Ontario as an RPN graduated in march 2010 and I currently make 28.90 an hour. with full benefits aswell

jonasmch37 · Feb 29, 2012

Hi, i live here in the US and i am planning on moving to Oshawa near family. i am currently in an LPN or as they call it in Canada RPN program. my question is this, what is the curriculum consist of. i cant seem to find it online. Any help will be appreciated.