Moving from US to Saskatchewan- I don't think I want to work at bedside any more.

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Are there different options for nurses in Canada for non bedside positions? I love bedside nursing as it makes you feel very accomplished by the end of the shift but I also hate bedside nursing because flaws in the hospitals system cause errors to happen and the mistake is always the nurses fault. Even if the doctor wrote the order wrong or sloppy the nurse is the one taking the fall. I am tired of dealing with being set up to fail. I am taking care of my patients and I don't have time to babysit the doctors so that they put a route, frequency, and dosage on their medication orders. Doctors constantly write orders for drugs the patient already took without even talking to the patient about their medications. They constantly write orders for drugs from patient home med sheets that include meds that the pateint hasn't taken for months to a year. This then becomes my job. I need to practically rewrite the doctors orders and then get them approved(by wasting more time on the phone trying to get the doctor) after actually speaking to the patient about them. Isnt that the doctors job? Also I cant be expected to know that a doctor wanted to be called on an INR result when the INR result came the shift before and in the system it was already checked off that the doctor was notified of the INR results on the Previous shift.

Anyway I love med surg because the patients I get to meet. I like to talk to them and learn how people live and how they view the world. I like that when I come in the room my patient said "You know what I see?" I see that everyone is really incredibly nice!" he goes on to tell me that he can talk to everyone and even joke with them and feel comfortable. He told me I am almost always smiling and that it makes him happy too. This is a hospice patient that I just met. It felt amazing knowing that something as small as me smiling could brighten up his day so much. I never was a constant smiling person until i started working as a CNA and I realize what a difference it made especially in the confused and combative situations. Nice is better. At first I had to actually try hard to smile, but now the smiles are real and I think it shows the patients that I am happy to get to know you, I am happy to do things to help you get better, I am happy to see you happy and hopefully getting healthier.

I am 25 and I have already had back surgery, and my doctor thinks I should leave bedside asap (he told me not to take the job in the first place). I would still like to make those kind of connections with people in another area of nursing but my back cant handle bedside and my mind cant handle the possibility of serious error occurring that is my fault. I have not caused any serious error but I can see how easily they can happen when you are so busy.

Where I work the nurses do all the order entries from the doctors scribbles and it is very very easy to misread the doctors scribbles and enter in something wrong. It is easy to just miss something when you have 5 pages of orders. There are just so many things that can go wrong with setting up orders while you are also very distracted trying to take care of your other patients on the floor. It seems like everyone else just quick checks orders and they are fine but for me I take extra time and still the and checker finds errors. I mean thank god they found my errors but it just makes me realize how easy and often errors can occur. Unfortunately there is not always a person to second check your orders before you give them.

Tonight I am wondering if I could get into more of the cosmetic type nursing. Is there a demand for that anywhere in Saskatchewan? What non bedside nursing positions are in need in Sask where I could still feel that I did something important at the end of the day?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

I think the issue will be finding a job first, have you checked what the job situation is like for Saskatchoon? careerbeacon would be a good one to search for jobs. You are still looking at a long process going through college and then immigration requirements before arriving here and being able to work

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Do you realize the vast majority of jobs in Canadian nursing are unionized and they are filled by seniority?

There are jobs that are so called "soft" jobs that often go to injured nurses already in the system to keep them working.

As a fresh hire in a union environment, your chances aren't that great. In my hospital it can take 20 years to get a line on a day surgery unit or out patient clinic. I have ten years in and don't even get interviewed.

You might find something in the homecare agencies in a supervisory/training role or in an independent clinic like the Morgentaler or rehabs but if they need you to lift there's your back issue again.

You have to look at it this way, if you are going to have a hard time finding a job in your home state, it's going to be even more difficult in a system that you haven't worked in and is very different from what you are used to.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Also, you mention you're 25. Do you have a BSN? That will make a difference with respect to the type of nursing positions you are eligible for. I wish you well....Canadian nurses with years of experience are finding it challenging. It never hurts to look and set goals, but be prepared that you may need to continue at the bedside for a while.

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I figure it will be tricky. I wouldn't mind home care. I'm not expecting a office job, but hoping for no lifting or at least a lot less. I would probably enjoy psyc nursing.

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I do have my bsn. My cousin works at a nursing home there. I could probably get a job there if needed as she said they need lots of help. I am very new. This isn't going to be easy. Hoping to take some classes to help me understand the differences between us and canadian health care. Thank you for the well wishes!

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Specializes in geriatrics.

You don't need to take classes to understand the healthcare system. Start by googling the Canada Health Act. Also, there are position papers on the Canadian Nurses Association website discussing primary health care and primary care. This will get you started. Health Canada also has a very informative website.

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I talked to a nursing recruiter at a job in Alberta recently and he said nursing jobs in urban areas of Saskatchewan are pretty saturated and to think rural.

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