UK looking at Canada

[laudun]

Hi there, I am currently a registered nurse working in the UK I am about to complete my midwifery training in February 09 and after a year am looking into working in Canada BC or Alberta. Does anyone have any information about midwifery in Canada, I would like to work in a hospital environment on the labour ward once qualified but still wish to retain my nurse status by working on general wards in addition to this. Any comments would be appreciated.

Many thanks

laudun

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

I have moved this to the Canadian forum and to a thread on it's own. If you have any questions regarding the actual immigration/work permit process we ask that you ask in the International forum but fist do a search in this and the International forum as many questions have already been asked. Would also suggest you read this thread https://allnurses.com/forums/f108/internationally-educated-nurses-very-important-read-first-323075.html

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Midwifery is still an orphan in most areas of Canada. Regulation is determined province by province. In Alberta, for example, midwives are not funded by the province and their services are paid out-of-pocket by the parents-to-be. There are a small number who have been given hospital privileges in Edmonton, but the only freestanding birth center (in Calgary) was reportedly closed earlier this year. In BC, the province does cover midwifery services but their caseloads are capped at 40 births per year, according to the most recent information I could find. There, the ratio of home- vs hospital-attended births runs about even.

Alberta is undergoing a baby boom, and many hospitals have added beds to their LDRP areas. My local hospital has added 15 new beds and nearly doubled their LDRP capacity. By the time you're ready to make your move and have jumped through the zillion and one hoops in front of you, there might actually be a potential here for you to do what you're wanting to do.

[Fiona59]

Agree with you Jan.

But wouldn't the OP wind up working L&D in a hospital setting? And from what I've seen from working here, those nurses never leave their unit. Hell, the ones I've met looked down on floor nurses, even the post and antepartum staff.

I know that my hospital puts up all sorts of hurdles to prevent nurses working across "services". You'd think a surgical nurse could float over to gynie but not without a fight. You have to be hired as a casual by the Women's Service to get near gynie and usually spend most of your shifts on the postpartum unit. Forgive my ignorance but a surgical nurse who wants to work gynie (which the last I heard was womens surgical) shouldn't have to go to post partum. It's a waste of good, solid surgical experience.

Sorry to wonder off topic.