urgent help-out of scope

canuckeh! · May 1, 2006

"Out of scope " means that the position is not included in the bargaining unit i.e. not a union position. This is because there are duties associated with the job description for this position that belong to management.

As far as the salary goes, most hospitals pay all managers doing relatively the same job, the same salary. You likely will have very little room to negotiate.

I don't know about Alberta, but in BC the public service employers are obliged to report on every employee who makes more than $70,000 annually. Try looking at the employer's website. See if you can find a few manager's names by their title, then look for their annual reports to see if you can get some idea what their salary ranges are.

Good luck!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 15, 2006

i know this is too little too late, but here goes. canuckeh! has it pretty right. "out-of-scope" is an "excluded position" and as such is not protected by the collective agreement. and there's not a lot of room for negotiation in terms of salary or benefits, but you may be able to specify when you will work, and also to request assitance with moving expenses... i doubt you'd get any educational assistance because that is something alberta expects nurses to provide for themselves at their own expense and on their own time. your salary would likely be in the range of $75-85k per year. alberta doesn't have the same requirement for all government employees' (nurses are employed by the health regions which are branches of the provincial government therefore nurses are government employees) salaries above a certain amount to be public knowledge. (alberta hasn't had an ndp government like bc and manitoba have.) so i'm basing my estimate on the rate of pay for a head nurse in scope; it could possibly be less, depending on what the job is.

i'm interested in what you decide.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 24, 2006

I was just looking at the benefits page of our local health authority and the out-of-scope package is included. (http://www.capitalhealth.ca/Careers/Benefits/ManagementOutOfScope/default.htm)

The flex package does have a clause for educational reimbursement.

hjfrn · Jun 25, 2006

thank you both for the replies. The offer does include support for education and relocation so I am a very happy bunny!

chevswife · Jul 7, 2006

Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, I am Australia trained and have just moved to canada. Who do I approach for lisencing and was it difficult for you.?. I hope all is going well for you. Regards

hjfrn · Jul 9, 2006

Hi, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, I am Australia trained and have just moved to canada. Who do I approach for lisencing and was it difficult for you.?. I hope all is going well for you. Regards

Where in Canada have you moved to?

What I did was to contact the provincial nursing authority. In Alberta it is known as CARNA. They helped me through the process of registration.

They first check your registration in the country in which you qulaified, then compare it to a Canadain training to ensure that it is comparible. Then I had to write the CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurse Exam-the "state" exam that all nurses take.)

Although I have passed the exam,I am not able to use "RN" yet as I need to work 225 hours in Canada to obtain a reference in order to satisfy the legal requirements.

So far things have gone fairly smoothly considering that I still live in the UK and have done all of it via eamil, telephone and mail. I start my new job in September-movung in August. Lots to do and so little time. :uhoh3:

Hope this info helps

Good Luck

PM me if I can be of any more help.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 9, 2006

I don't think there should be much problem for Chevswife to get a canadian license. I work with several nurses who came here from Australia so their education must be "substantively equivalent". It's just a real hassle getting all the required documentation, paying all the fees and doing all the waiting...

Hjfrn, where are you moving to? Have you found a house and all that? I think you said you're coming to Capital Health, didn't you? The housing market is just crazy here. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

chevswife · Jul 9, 2006

thankyou so much for your quick response. I have moved to Medicine Hat in Alberta, my husbands family have a few nurses that work at the major hospital, most of my previous skills however relate more to aged care and a specialty in dementia. Although I want to be able to do both aged and acute care and possibly Mental Health. Any further information.. Please send it my way.

Regards Jen

hjfrn · Jul 9, 2006

I don't think there should be much problem for Chevswife to get a canadian license. I work with several nurses who came here from Australia so their education must be "substantively equivalent". It's just a real hassle getting all the required documentation, paying all the fees and doing all the waiting...
Hjfrn, where are you moving to? Have you found a house and all that? I think you said you're coming to Capital Health, didn't you? The housing market is just crazy here. Let me know if I can do anything for you.

Jnfrn-thank you for your very kind offer.

I will be working in the Peace Country Health Region. They have helped me with three months accomodation in order for me to find my feet. I have looked at the house prices in Alberta and although they are not cheap-they are cheaper than the UK.:)

The worry for me is the cost of living that far north in Alberta. Things like the cost of heating the house, buying a car etc.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jul 9, 2006

Peace County is beautiful! My mom grew up there and I still have family just outside of Peace River. It's a little more than a five hour drive to Edmonton, which sounds like a lot to you, but here it's a short jaunt! Housing is pricy there because of the oil and natural gas industry gobbling everything up. My cousin comes to Edmonton when he has major purchases in mind, but then he usually ties his shopping in with a visit to his mother... Grande Prairie has really grown in the last decade or so and they have a lot of the major retailers there already. You can get good quality furniture and appliances at The Brick and they'll bring it right into your room and set it up for you then haul away the boxes. Heating costs aren't any higher there than they are here, but groceries are a bit higher because of transportation costs. One thing you will find a bit of an adjustment is the north-ness... where I live is about 300 km south of there and it starts getting light at about 0330 this time of year, and stays light until well after 2230; up there it's even longer. Of course, the winters are the opposite, it feels like it's always dark. Working twelve hour shifts in the winter can be very depressing... go to work in the dark, come home in the dark no matter which shift you're on. I hope you like it here!

chevswife · Jul 10, 2006

what lovely people you both seem to be. No wonder you are both nurses. What a lucky country canada is to have such kindness in the nursing industry. YaY for you both.

Regards

Jen (chevswife).