Vancouver, BC- VCH vs. Fraser

Marijke · Feb 5, 2008

Hey wasup!

You need to empty some of your stored messages, I have tried to reply to you but can not send anything until you create some space

Marijke

wasup · Feb 5, 2008

Hey wasup!
You need to empty some of your stored messages, I have tried to reply to you but can not send anything until you create some space
Marijke

I fixed it!

soundbites21 · Feb 6, 2008

I am about to apply for work permit and have contacted both VCH and Fraser. Don't know which is better...
Have anyone worked in a Fraser hospital in Vancouver area?
Any comments, opinions about work conditions, benefits or specific facilities? May be you can compare that experience with other hospital?

/rant

Both of them are slow.

Sometimes, I don't really understand it. Here we are, qualified nurses from other countries who just passed all the barriers they put up, but apparently they still don't want us. Heck, it's so sad, it seems funny at times. They keep grieving in the media about it, yet when you apply on their hospitals, they keep blowing you off.

They keep on harping about canadian experience.. well, of course we don't have canadian experience. We are new immigrants, for crying out loud. How can we have this golden, treasured, unforgettable canadian experience if they don't give us a chance?

Even if you get canadian experience, they scoff at it. My best friend said it best - to them, it's never gonna be enough.

I just need to get this thing off my chest. I really think politics, and not the shortage, plays a big part in hiring nurses in both vch and fraser health.

/rant off

Fiona59 · Feb 6, 2008

You know what? I'm getting fed up reading posts from people who feel that Canada is just plain old being mean to them and should just drop all the requirements and give them jobs because they were nurses "back home".

Immigration to a new country has never been easy. Every generation of immigrants has had hurdles to overcome to establish themselves.

It's just not foreign nurses that have to deal with this mess. Canadian educated nurses face the same hurdle when they move provinces. Credentials need to be examined and if there is a candidate with local experience, well guess who gets the job? The local in most cases.

Fresh starts in a new land don't happen over night. If you are really that unhappy being here, perhaps it is time to re-evaluate why you chose this country to live in.

soundbites21 · Feb 6, 2008

You know what? I'm getting fed up reading posts from people who feel that Canada is just plain old being mean to them and should just drop all the requirements and give them jobs because they were nurses "back home".
Immigration to a new country has never been easy. Every generation of immigrants has had hurdles to overcome to establish themselves.
It's just not foreign nurses that have to deal with this mess. Canadian educated nurses face the same hurdle when they move provinces. Credentials need to be examined and if there is a candidate with local experience, well guess who gets the job? The local in most cases.
Fresh starts in a new land don't happen over night. If you are really that unhappy being here, perhaps it is time to re-evaluate why you chose this country to live in.

I understand where you're coming from. However - isn't it there a shortage of nurses though? Doesn't the public deserve more staff to care for them? Isn't almost half the population of canada immigrants?

You cannot hide the fact that Canada, is really mean. "Plain old being mean" in your own words. Look around. I didn't say just drop all requirements - I said after passing all the requirements, they still won't accept you.

If you think the system works, if you honestly think all the barriers that are put up are effective, then we must come to a disagreement.

And who talked about immigration and " Fresh starts in a new land don't happen over night"? I am ranting about employers not accepting you despite overcoming all the hurdles put up by crnbc. I am ranting about paying my dues, and employers not recognizing them.

Fiona59 · Feb 7, 2008

Have you considered volunteering in your community to acquire local experience and references?

Many employers look at the whole person, not just nursing credentials. They also evaluate your attitude towards them during the interview and how you interacted with others prior to the interview. I've know receptionists who got a say in the process, basically how you presented yourself to them, "polite, pleasant, well groomed" to "demanding, rude, feet on the couch in the waiting room".

Have you considered contacting the Y or other employment assitance agencies to brush up on your interviewing techniques?

Rad Student · Feb 7, 2008

What about Interior Health? How slow and difficult are they? :specs:

soundbites21 · Feb 8, 2008

Have you considered volunteering in your community to acquire local experience and references?
Many employers look at the whole person, not just nursing credentials. They also evaluate your attitude towards them during the interview and how you interacted with others prior to the interview. I've know receptionists who got a say in the process, basically how you presented yourself to them, "polite, pleasant, well groomed" to "demanding, rude, feet on the couch in the waiting room".
Have you considered contacting the Y or other employment assitance agencies to brush up on your interviewing techniques?

Yes I did volunteer - My resume is littered with volunteer work in hospice care, community centres, assisted living and extended care facilities. I've volunteered in the downtown eastside. The whole nine yards. I did this while I was reviewing for the exam, in hopes that I can get a job under the interim permit..to no avail.

You may ask, why not in hospitals? Well, Mt. Saint joseph's along kingsway here in BC doesn't really accept volunteers in acute care. They only accept volunteers for geriatric care - which is the same thing that I did all the while awaiting to take the exam. Royal Columbian in New westminster accepts volunteers, but they want 6 months to 1 year commitment. 6 months to 1 year! If you break the commitment you get a bad rep. And it doesn't guarantee you a job with them. Ditto for VGH and BGH...

You go with the "interview" angle. Well, that's ironic for me. The major employers (Vch,phc,fsh) don't want to grant an interview in the first place, because they assume you don't have enough to hack it. It's funny, because I applied in almost all extended care facilities here in vancouver, and at every end of the interview I always ask them for feedback. So far, I haven't had any negative ones, as I get accepted everytime.

Just this morning I got a call from the nurse recruiter from fraser health.. well, she basically told me to go to school again, before I get a job. A "nurse refresher" program, which is 1 year long and costs 20k. Are you kidding me? Why did CRNBC license me if i'm not qualified? Costs of daily living aren't cheap, and housing prices keeps on going up. Am I that so dumb that me passing the CRNE was a fluke? Or so incompetent that I can't do what a staff nurse in surgery or medicine does as well?

I guess that's all part of immigrating. I've come to terms that hey, having 2 full time jobs in extended care facilities isn't too bad you know? The pay is the same, food is free and it's not so stressfull. I get to keep my health to an optimum level and there's no drama in the workplace.The only knock is that I don't get to expand my education, and I'm missing out in a lot of opportunities to "branch out". But hey, s--- happens and you can't get everything you want. If acute care doesn't want me in the first place, then I guess I won't force myself unto them. :uhoh3:

felisa · Feb 8, 2008

That's really ironic. And we see hundreds of ads saying they need nurses... Maybe they do, but not in hospitals...

bonginkosi · Apr 14, 2010

i feel your pain soundbites21, l spent over a year going through the process of getting registered, paid out thousands of dollars on 2 courses at kwantlen, accomodation costs and over 6 weeks after finally completing everything l have nothing to show for it. CRNBC told me to wait 4 weeks for them to email me the confirmation for my provisional licence and when l enquired after that period lapsed l got a couple of rude replies telling basically wait it out and not to bother them. l have kept these replies saved and fully intend to file a complaint. employers wont even look at someone who is looking to take the SEC, and who can blame them-most people a slapped with courses that cost between $500-800 each or worse courses costing up to $20000 and they just drop the process.if you are not a specialist nurse then employers dont give a toss what your name is, the door is basically shut for the forseable future

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 14, 2010

okay... back the bus up here! the last post prior to yours bonginkosi was on february 8, 2008. many, many things have happened in those 26 months that have coloured the ien situation. things such as a huge number of iens failing to meet minimum requirements for entry to practice in a canadian health care environment. things like the health regions spending millions of dollars on recruiting from off-shore and being no further ahead at the end of it. things like the bottom falling out of the economy and human resources being always the soft target when budgets are cut.

some comments:

1. it is not "mean" to have standards and to hold all comers to those standards. it's sound business practice and ensures safe, competent and ethical care.

2. having a piece of paper from another country that says you're a nurse does not necessarily equate to having the same level of education or skills as a locally-educated nurse. definitions are remarkably fluid. hence the need for credentials assessments and skills evaluations.

3. passing the crne is not a guarantee of either registration or employment. it's an assessment of nursing knowledge. that's all.

4. registration with any of the colleges of nursing is not a guarantee of employment. it's a permit to practice. that's all.

5. crnbc owes you what you've paid them for - an assessment of your credentials, an evaluation of your skills and a permit to practice if you meet their standards. but they don't owe you instantaneous service. do you think yours is the only file they're handling? do you realize that they have several thousands of registered nurses already on their books who also have claims on their time?

6. employers owe you nothing. they don't owe you an acknowledgment of your application much less an interview and even less a job. they have an obligation to hire the best person for the position. that's all. sec raises red flags about a person's suitability for the degree of complexity of the job the employer is filling. even specialist nurses are not all created equal. an intensive care unit in botswana is going to be very different from a quaternary icu in vancouver.

7.canada is a nation built by immigrants, but the population of canada is not 50% immigrants and hasn't been for more than 100 years. in fact, the population of canada grows through immigration at a rate of less than 0.01% per year. all of my ancestors were immigrants, but there have been five generations born on canadian soil since my most recent immigrant ancestor arrived here. in my spouse's family there have been thirteen generations born here.

moving to another country is always a huge undertaking. to do it without a guaranteed job and enough money to survive until things balance themselves out is not only much more difficult, it's not wise. choices always come with ramifications. knowing what those might be and accepting them as they come is a responsibility that only the chooser can assume. it's not canada's fault that things have not gone flawlessly.

this thread will now be closed. feel free to start a new canada-bashing thread of your own if you must, but this thread has run its course.