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Discussion

Thinking about relocating in Alberta...

Hello, I am presently a nursing student in Quebec. I am in my first year of my intensive two year program in college to obtain a RN diploma. My plan is to obtain a bachelor degree in nursing.

My family and I are considering relocating to Alberta and I have many concerns.:uhoh3: I wonder if with a College degree will I be able to work as a RN in Alberta? I will only be done my degree by december 2008, should I continue my program here in Quebec or should I transfert to Alberta ASAP? What are the job availabilities? If I do continue my studies here, will I have to do both the OIIQ and the Canadian exam to obtain my liscence? If I continue here, do I obtain a BSN in two or four years in Alberta? Is there a better University for studing in a Nursing program? What about Athabasca university (on line)?

I've been calling and emailing so many different universities and associations and it seems like nobody can answer my questions clearly. I would greatly appreciates any information that could be helpfull to make my decisions.

I am also wondering where are the best places to move in Alberta. Where is it booming, where could we find both nursing jobs and also trade jobs(construction) available at lest for the next 5 years? My dream place would be a quiet town, with a mountain view.:loveya: It could be close to a bigger city or town or could be far away from major cities. I would love to live by a lake so my dog could go swimming and could run free in my back yard. A place where I can have a sucessfull career, a good salary and a great standard of living but also where houses are available and afordable.

Thanks for taking time to read my message and even more for answering me,

a Student nurse searching for a futur

Featured Replies

  • Experts

A two year program may give you the equivalent of the ADN, Associate's Degree as we call it in the US.

To get the BSN, it involves a four year degree. Bachelor's means four years. The only way to get the BSN in less time is if you have a Bachelor's in another field and are doing an Accelerated Program.

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I am going to go ahead and move this to the Canadian Forum that we have here (under the International Forum), and I am sure that a few nurses will be along to answer your specifics about that province.

Best of luck to you with your schooling.:balloons:

Hmm, I'm pretty sure that the last diploma group of RN's has started and are due to complete by 2009.

The province is "booming" and their are lots of trades job around. Having said that remember the '80s and the NEP. Boom to bust like that.

Housing prices have risen pretty fast in the last year or two. It's getting like the other parts of Canada. You can sell your place for a lot but you still have to find another place to live. What is affordable in housing depends on so many things, how big is your downpayment, are you planning on working while in school, are there children involved (childcare is hard to find and expensive).

I also recall hearing that not all nursing courses will transfer and some of your work will be repeated.

There are lots of jobs right now for nurses and should continue to be for a long time due to the number aging people in this province. But how much the govt is really willing to spend on healthcare will affect that.

Ultimately, only you can decide to make the move and when to move.

Jan should be around soon and she is the best source of nursing advice for Alberta.

  • Experts

Fiona you have such faith in me... I'm flattered!

The Health Professions Act of Alberta states that entry to practice currently is either a diploma or a degree obtained prior to December 31, 2009, and CARNA regulations state that if you are educated elsewhere in Canada you must obtain registry in that province first before registering in Alberta. So if you finish you education in Quebec, you have to write and pass the CRNE, register with OIIQ, then apply for registration here. It can all sort of be done at the same time, but you have to do it all. I don't think you'd be able to transfer into the diploma program here in enough time to finish before the entry to practice changes, because they're turning people away. There's a lot of information available online at: http://www.nurses.ab.ca/registration/CDN%20Registration%20Requirements%202007.pdf

As Fiona says, there are differences in education programs, and CARNA should be able to tell you if the program you're attending is acceptable. Keep after them!! There is a baccalaureate for registered nurses program at both U of A and U of C that is two years long (full-time study) but can be done on a part-time basis.

(I only just learned last night that the Grant McEwan diploma program has essentially no peds content... they get a bout three days of clinical in the intermediate care nursery at the Misericordia, and that's it! One of my coworkers has a daughter in the program who wanted to do her practicum in our PICU and or patient care manager was delighted to facilitate it until CARNA told her they wouldn't allow it due to the lack of peds content in the program... that THEY approved!! Apparently the Grant McEwan program is only meant to turn out med-surg nurses!)

Okay, back to Chablis' issues... There are dozens of communities that would fit your criteria... dozens. Affordability might be a problem in some of them, but property values in lots of areas in Quebec are close to what they are here. I'd stay away from places like Fort MacMurray ( where a fire just left 300 MORE people without homes in a market where the prices are ridiculously high and availability drastically low and people live in their travel trailers!), Grande Prairie (which also has an availability problem), Calgary and Edmonton. But places like Vegreville, Vermilion, Cold Lake (there's a great place to live! If I could go back there I would...), Lacombe, Stettler, and others all would be good. For the mountain view you could look at Edson, Rocky Mountain House, Pincher Creek, Fort McLeod, Claresholm, High River... there are a lot of choices.

As Fiona says, things are booming in Alberta, and as all good things much come to an end, so must a boom. I don't think it's likely to bust in the near future, as happened with the NEP. (We were living in Cold Lake then and it was awful... we moved to Montreal. How's that for irony?) Conditions are different this time around, and I don't see us as being on the bubble yet. If I had a crystal ball, I could be more convincing, but I really don't want to have the power to see the future. Make your decisions based on the best information you can get and look at your own personal needs, and you'll be okay.

Hi,

A little away from the topic but regarding relocation. I am an indiannurse and am coming to Calgary in a month or two on a workpermit.My employer will provide me accomadation for a month, after a month we are allowed to bring our family, in my case my husband. Just want to know regarding renting houses, will it be easy to find a place in a month?Do we get furnished houses with a nominal amount.We checked some websites but not really sure of whats the best option. If you could give some information or know a goodwebsite i will be grateful. Thanks.:)

  • Experts

Calgary Health Region is providing housing for a very short period of time. I'd expect it to be very basic shared accommodation with a nominal rent of around $400 a month. But affordable housing in Calgary is scarce, as it is in Edmonton. Rental vacancies aren't plentiful and many of them are basically furnished rooms in someone else's home renting for $500 a month or more. If you have a family you can expect to pay a lot more. This site lets you see what you're getting for the money: http://www.viewit.ca/city/calgary.aspx?gclid=CN7or_-vqZICFQ6kiQod6RPPQQ but I would take what they show in the pictures with a grain of salt. A bachelor suite is essentially one big room carved into separate areas for sleeping, eating and entertaining. You might find it hard to get a place that meets your needs that you can afford within the limited time frame you have. I wonder if CHR has a list of available places that you could check out.

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