Working in MedSurg with ONLY RNs...

[newgradnurse2018]

Hi! i'm a new grad Canadian nurse working on a medsurg floor in a main hospital downtown Toronto. The entire floor is RN only, so we don't have any techs, RPNs (LVNs) or anything of the sort.. Which boggles my mind because I have to balance giving meds, cleaning up bowel movements, brief changes, and even feeding between 4-6 patients depending on whether I work a day or night shift. Day shifts I usually have 4 patients while on nights I take care of 6.. My friend who lives in the US (Texas) says most floors in the hospitals there have techs and LVNs who take care of the cleaning, feeding, taking vitals, etc. Are RN only units common in Canada or something? Is there a funding issue? Because the burnout is ridiculous....

[RikkiLynn]

Oh I think I understand the confusion! It's because I said nursing assistant right? My apologies, you say CNA for care aids, but in quebec a care aid is PAB or (formerly "orderly"). A nursing assistant where I am (which is not a term used anymore anyway) is an LPN. Thats what I was referring too.

[ffooxx]

Oh I think I understand the confusion! It's because I said nursing assistant right? My apologies, you say CNA for care aids, but in quebec a care aid is PAB or (formerly "orderly"). A nursing assistant where I am (which is not a term used anymore anyway) is an LPN. Thats what I was referring too.

LPN is not a nursing assistant. There are two types of nurses in Canada: LPNs (aka RPNs, licensed/registered practical nurses) it's a 2 year program, and RNs (Registered Nurses) with a BScN degree.

[TriciaJ, RN]

I would guess it's the same as an LPN, or LVN.

I work on a unit with all nurses. We usually have 3-4 apiece. Our census

keeps going up and staying up and our patients are getting more complex

so we are supposed to be getting aides soon. I'll believe it when I see

it.

In eastern Canada an RPN is a registered practical nurse. I don't know why they used Registered instead of Licensed like everywhere else. To add to the confusion, in western Canada, an RPN is a registered psychiatric nurse, which is its own thing.