Should i get my bscn?

loriangel14, RN · Apr 7, 2014

Have a look on the Canadian Forum. There are many threads dealing with finding work in Canada.BC, Alberta and Ontario seem to be hardest hit when it comes to the nursing job market.

Fiona59 · Apr 7, 2014

Nobody and I mean nobody (including government crystal ball gazers) know what the job market and health care budge will be like in 4-5 years time.

Never assume that a degree or diploma will guarantee you a job after graduation

ltothew · Apr 8, 2014

I know for the lower mainland in BC most new grads are getting hired in their preceptorships, from their ESN placements, or taking casual shifts. You would get called pretty regularly for casual, but you have to be willing to take shifts whenever, and not everyone can do that (due to circumstances like having a family etc). A lot of RN students are starting their specialties while finishing their BSN (you can do most of them online with the exception of clinical components as you get further along). If you take one or two courses through somewhere like BCIT, it shows to the health authority that you are serious about it, and then a lot of the time they will pay for the remainder of the courses. In a health authority like Fraser Health, they allow you to accumulate seniority while ESNing, that you do not lose once school is complete. Nursing school left me in a ton of debt also.

yoga&cake · Apr 10, 2014

If you are passionate about nursing and have known for 5 years that's the career you want you should follow that. As Fiona59 stated above no degree will guarantee you a job post-graduation. For instance, I had a friend graduate from Law School and has been unable to find an articling position for the last 2 years. On the other hand, I had 2 friends graduate from teaching and both found jobs. If you are willing to move remote or work as a casual and take any shifts offered you'll have more luck. With that said, the healthcare system needs nurses to function but the working conditions the system will subject nurses to are becoming quite unsafe, with poor staffing ratios and patient overflow (just a couple months ago a group of ER RNs quit at Royal Columbian due to terrible conditions). As ltothew said a willingness to take speciality courses (which unfortunately would come out of your own pocket) is a good way to show your dedication to Health Authorities and put you ahead of other freshly out of school nurses. Previous to entering nursing school I was very set on staying in the city but now I am seriously considering moving somewhere remote where I would likely get more hours, though no guarantee as budget cuts are everywhere.

If you have previous college/university credits you might want to consider a compressed program as then you'd only be living off loans for a couple years versus 4 years. Good luck!

brittrose · Apr 13, 2014

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm just going to go ahead and do it and have some faith that it will all work out.

htanis · Apr 17, 2014

i keep hearing on the news that over half of RNs will be retiring within the next 4yrs, so i'm hoping that my graduation (in 4 yrs) will time perfectly with that! if it's what you have a passion for - you'll never regret it :)

Fiona59 · Apr 17, 2014

i keep hearing on the news that over half of RNs will be retiring within the next 4yrs, so i'm hoping that my graduation (in 4 yrs) will time perfectly with that! if it's what you have a passion for - you'll never regret it :)

Keep dreaming. 3 out of the last 4 nurses that retired on my unit, returned to work as casuals because they claim their pensions aren't big enough.

Freedom 55 is a myth for my generation. I managed to be one of the lucky ones who came to nursing late, have only managed to work part time, and am affected by the new CPP regulations as are half my coworkers. There is no way we can leave at 55 or even 60. We are doomed to another 14 years unless our backs and knees give out and we qualify for disability

htanis · Apr 17, 2014

Keep dreaming. 3 out of the last 4 nurses that retired on my unit, returned to work as casuals because they claim their pensions aren't big enough.
Freedom 55 is a myth for my generation. I managed to be one of the lucky ones who came to nursing late, have only managed to work part time, and am affected by the new CPP regulations as are half my coworkers. There is no way we can leave at 55 or even 60. We are doomed to another 14 years unless our backs and knees give out and we qualify for disability

that is a problem locally here as well. all the public health nurses are seeming to be holding onto their jobs until they physically are unable to continue. this seems to be the case for any profession. unfortunately the pension cuts trickle down and hurt everyone. even with a university degree there is no guarantee of a job.

Trishrpn80 · Apr 17, 2014

My mom is a 63 yr old nurse and she says she isn't retoring for at least 5

Years. I won't be retiring for at least another 34 yrs and thats if they let me do it at 67 lol

LineaAspera · Apr 17, 2014

it seems as though there are a lot of negative nellies on this site.

speaking to most nurses in person they are optimistic about the job outlook for rns in canada, especially with the aging populations in canada. keep at it & work hard & i'm sure you will be able to lock down a job.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 17, 2014

it seems as though there are a lot of negative nellies on this site.
speaking to most nurses in person they are optimistic about the job outlook for rns in canada, especially with the aging populations in canada. keep at it & work hard & i'm sure you will be able to lock down a job.

Who was it that said, "There are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics"? (Mark Twain) If you're talking to nurses in the work force and they're telling you that the aging population is going to mean LOTS of jobs for nurses in the future, they're probably management or academic nurses. Those of us working in acute, critical and long-term care aren't seeing things expanding at all. They're contracting. Alberta and BC are busy off-loading all long-term care responsibilities to private companies that only provide a room-and-board situation at a very stiff price and provide NO nursing care. They call it designated assisted living and the "assisted" part is one meal a day in the communal dining room and someone knocking on the door every morning to make sure you're still breathing. Oh, and your room rent includes one of those panic buttons that hangs around your neck for times when you've fallen and can't get up. This has already happened in Ontario. I know this because I have family members "in the system". And I've worked in acute care for nearly 20 years. This is the worst I've ever seen it. There are numerous scholarly papers that refute the aging-Canadian-dramatic-increase-in-health-care-spending myth if you look for them.

If a person truly wants a job, eventually they will get one. But that doesn't mean that hard work is all that's needed. It might mean moving 1000s of km away from family and friends, living in a dormitory-style bunkhouse and wearing lots of layers of clothing. Or it might mean working 2 or 3 causal jobs to pay the rent... for several years before getting a foot in the door and having a "real" job. All things in health care are cyclical and right now we're almost at the nadir of a roughly-20 year long cycle - meaning that it will be about 10 years before things are "good" again. I'm not being negative, I'm being realistic.