Small town BC

[guest464345]

I've received a call for an interview at a small hospital in a town of ~5,000 near the US border in southeastern BC.

I've only worked at big urban hospitals and public health settings (in the US), so this would be a big change. However, I'm looking for a change, and definitely wanting to relocate. I'm open to a small town but have a million questions!

Firstly, where and how do you find housing? Living an hour away and commuting in the snow would not be my first choice, and a quick Google search for houses or apartments for rent yields...literally nothing.

My understanding is that the standard hospital schedule for Canadian nurses is two days, two nights consecutively (not common to rotate shifts in the US, let alone flipping days/nights every week) - how on earth do you manage that?

And any advice from folks who live and work in town this size, in a small hospital of maybe 20 total beds?  What do you like about it? The idea of having to handle ANYthing that comes in - not just the little slice of work that's mine in a place staffed with specialists 24/7 - is a little terrifying. 

[Lucydog14]

I've never worked the two days then two night schedule. 

[dayandnight]

On 8/24/2021 at 7:03 PM, laflaca said:

I've received a call for an interview at a small hospital in a town of ~5,000 near the US border in southeastern BC.

I've only worked at big urban hospitals and public health settings (in the US), so this would be a big change. However, I'm looking for a change, and definitely wanting to relocate. I'm open to a small town but have a million questions!

Firstly, where and how do you find housing? Living an hour away and commuting in the snow would not be my first choice, and a quick Google search for houses or apartments for rent yields...literally nothing.

My understanding is that the standard hospital schedule for Canadian nurses is two days, two nights consecutively (not common to rotate shifts in the US, let alone flipping days/nights every week) - how on earth do you manage that?

And any advice from folks who live and work in town this size, in a small hospital of maybe 20 total beds?  What do you like about it? The idea of having to handle ANYthing that comes in - not just the little slice of work that's mine in a place staffed with specialists 24/7 - is a little terrifying. 

 

Standard BC hospital schedule is 2D 2N and 4-5 days off ( depends on health authority but some health authorities give more 4 days off, some more 5 days off). It can take time getting used to. My husband likes working in Canada (we're both from US but my husband just transferred his license in March) but he works at the biggest trauma hospital in Vancouver, but he feels that it is still very different than US nursing (hospitals in BC except for a few are quite old and outdated compared to the US). It will certainly be a big adjustment for you. The licensing transfer though is very tedious. It took my husband almost 4 years through all the bureaucracy and paperwork..

On 9/10/2021 at 7:50 AM, Lucydog14 said:

I've never worked the two days then two night schedule. 

in BC that's the standard schedule for inpatient nursing

[guest464345]

Thanks for the info, that's helpful!

I already got the BC license - it took about a year and a half for me. I guess I was lucky.

I passed on this particular job, for more than one reason. Among other things, most of my experience is in public health rather than acute care - not sure I'm willing to go back to any hospital in any country, let alone a setup with that rotating day/night schedule (which still seems unnecessarily painful to me, but kudos to the hearty Canadians who can handle it).