What pathway should I take?

[bby.picasso]

Hi everybody,

I’m new here and hoping to get some insight, since I haven’t been able to find a post that’s a similar situation to mine.

I was in a RPN program last year, really enjoyed it however had to drop out due to personal situations. Now that I’m in a better spot, I want to embark on this path again but I’m REALLY confused on how to go about this ?

My overall goal is to become a PHC-NP. At this time, I’m 23 and I work for a medical services company earning about $35k. I don’t have my degree and like I mentioned before, I have not completed any post-secondary. Currently live with my mom, have very little debt that I’m paying off and no kids. However my partner and I would like to start building a life together sometime in the near future.

What’s deterring me from doing the full 4 year RN program is that for all those years I would probably have to get a minimum wage job. My monthly expenses total around $1250 but with the amount of effort I would want to put into the program, I probably wouldn’t be able to work more hours to put some savings aside. And if I decide to get a place with my partner, most of the financial burden would be on him - something I would not be comfortable with.

However if I embark on the RPN bridging path, I’d probably do the bridging through Nippissing since you can do it online if you work for one of their partners, but that would take an additional 5 years.

Am I just being a brat for not wanting to give up my financial comforts and saving opportunities? Should I just bite the bullet and tackle the 4 year program or sacrifice additional years to stay comfortable?

All advice is much appreciated. Thanks everyone!

[Lucydog14]

It is but not everywhere. I was in a unionized job. Lots of overtime and 14% in lieu

[GBC_Student, BSN, RN]

7 hours ago, OptNurse said:

Really? I thought pay was unionized?

A big thing that can impact your hourly wage is shift differentials, if you're part time or full-time (in lieu of benefits) , if you're "in charge" (if you're the charge nurse) and OT. For instance my base wage is $29.75 per hour, and the hospital I work at offers part time employees 20% in lieu of benefits and vacation. My hospital offers part timers the option to pay 2% into the pension plan. So my hourly wage actually comes out to $35.10 an hour. A lot of hospitals will pay you a higher wage if you work in the evening and more on top of that if you work a night shift. You'll also see weekend premiums. So even though an RPN might top out at $33 they might be getting more an hour if they're part time and working a night shift. Pay varies from province to province and hospital to hospital. And over time can be a real game changer. If I'm working OT on a Saturday night shift I could earn $60 an hour.

[OptNurse]

58 minutes ago, GBC_Student said:

A big thing that can impact your hourly wage is shift differentials, if you're part time or full-time (in lieu of benefits) , if you're "in charge" (if you're the charge nurse) and OT. For instance my base wage is $29.75 per hour, and the hospital I work at offers part time employees 20% in lieu of benefits and vacation. My hospital offers part timers the option to pay 2% into the pension plan. So my hourly wage actually comes out to $35.10 an hour. A lot of hospitals will pay you a higher wage if you work in the evening and more on top of that if you work a night shift. You'll also see weekend premiums. So even though an RPN might top out at $33 they might be getting more an hour if they're part time and working a night shift. Pay varies from province to province and hospital to hospital. And over time can be a real game changer. If I'm working OT on a Saturday night shift I could earn $60 an hour.

That explains it. Thanks.

[xokw, BSN, RN]

On 11/17/2019 at 6:29 PM, OptNurse said:

Really? I thought pay was unionized?

Not everyone is unionized. Also, to touch on a previous poster, there is no standardized ONA rate of pay across the board. Those who are unionized have their own collective agreements and the pay and other benefits depend on what your bargaining unit can negotiate. Pay varies dramatically.