Rural nursing for new grads

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Hello everyone,

I'm writing to seek your advice. I just graduated from a nursing school in BC and my husband and I are dreaming of moving to some distant rural area (any province). My husband works from home, so we are not tied to anywhere. When I think of what kind of nursing I want to do, the only thing that really excites me is rural nursing. But I know it is a hard kind of nursing where you work with scarce resources and have to really know your scope. I would like to take Rural nursing program in the University of Northern British Columbia and I can afford it.

My question is: is there a point to enrol into Rural Nursing Program right after nursing school? I heard that it is not hard to find a rural nursing job somewhere up North and get experience, but I don't feel confident enough to accept it before I have a certificate. Too much responsibility.

Do you have any advice for me or a story to share?

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Don't waste money and time going back to school for just 'rural nursing'. When we graduate we are trained as 'generalists' so as long as you have a good solid understanding of the basics, everything else is learning on the go from your job. You won't get that in school.

I'm glad you like rural nursing because there is a huge job market out there. Full time lines are always available in rural northern Alberta and Manitoba, especially for new grads since no one else will come here otherwise. I work rural northern Alberta and I'm saving money and paying down my gigantic $52k student loans. My workplace is good, co-workers are nice and most do their part and management is not too bad either.

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P.S. You will not be getting charge responsibility of a unit right off the bat, and you are always given an orientation for a couple of weeks before you start which includes buddy shifts. When you go to the interviews ask the hiring mangers what their orientation is like and how long. When I got hired, they told me orientation is a few weeks and you can always ask for more buddy shifts if at the end of orientation you are still uncomfortable being alone. And even when I was alone and had some questions, I could always ask the charge nurse or fellow colleagues for help and they were happy to do it as long as you show willingness to learn. Good luck!

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blissity, thank you very much for this information! Glad to hear that you're enjoying your work!

I'm just a school junkie. I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 years of nursing school (and my classmates said I'm crazy) :)

The idea of another semester in the University of Northern British Columbia sounds better to me than a vacation :)

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Specializes in geriatrics.

You don't need a certificate for rural nursing. Instead, ask yourself if you can tolerate 17 hour shifts, isolation, and lack of anonymity. Are you able to work independently?

Rural nursing is not for everyone, including many new grads.

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After working about 6 months in a isolated northern village I did my first charge shift and remembered this convo :)

Yep, rural nursing is not for everyone, for the reasons stated above for sure, but I love it and can't imagine doing anything else. Very happy about my choice. Thanks everyone!

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Thanks for the update! I'm interesting in going to northern bc as well! Any tips or info you can share to help me out?

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For tips: have a good winter wardrobe and make sure you have indoor hobbies and an entertainment system:) the closest movie theatre is 200 miles away ;)

and a reliable vehicle.

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Thanks for getting back to the group.

How was your orientation?

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The orientation was about a month, 16 buddy shifts. I would say it was more than enough, I felt comfortable starting to be on my own.

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