Working Life系列之 Working as a registered nurse

timtom(Boys)

论坛里总是看到IT大虾和Accounting美女，在这里做护士的多吗? 大家有空在这儿聚聚。大家互通有无，交流业界信息，也可以帮助其他人进入这个圈子，有人支持吗？

I have worked as a registered nurse for 7 years, mainly worked in the critical care units in acute hospitals.

Now I am thinking a lot about the other options in the nursing field:

Eg: nurse practitioner, advanced nursing practise, nurse anesthetist, nursing contractor, agency nurse, or bussiness in nursing

What do you guys think? Can you please advice me and join the discussion?

(#3299169@0)
Last Updated: 2006-11-2

论坛里总是看到IT大虾和Accounting美女，在这里做护士的多吗? 大家有空在这儿聚聚。大家互通有无，交流业界信息，也可以帮助其他人进入这个圈子，有人支持吗？ -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3299251@0)

支持支持，看在你引用我原著的份上：） -hrm(CCP); 2006-11-3 (#3301792@0)

thanks a lot -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-4 (#3303159@0)

I have a lot of material and books for nursing exams and further study: If there is the need, I will share with others -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 {182} (#3299265@0)

Is there any agency nurse here? How do you find the work and pay? -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3299344@0)

up -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3299620@0)

同行报道支持一把. 走过的几个科室收入最高的都是身体精力奔儿棒的男注册护士, 可惜国人存在心里障碍. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-2 {166} (#3299817@0)

儿子还小,没摸清他将来会对医学相关专业感兴趣,还是向爸爸一样对工程技术系列感兴趣,如果他喜欢,我不会反对他将来做注册护士,会有许多择业选择机会. 职业也是为了生活, 快乐就好.

Thank you, tearen, I read all the articles in your blog. They are great! -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 {188} (#3300551@0)
I really appreciate your support!
Mentioning about our kids, I always encourage my 2 sons to become a doctor even though they are so young now. one is 3 and the other is just 1 yr old :-)
Tearen, do you know what kind of nursing business we can do as a part-time thing? -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3300562@0)

I heard about the RN ran a home care business. They have to have more knowledge about community care. Here in BC, there is a BCIT specialty course for it. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-3 {429} (#3300693@0)
Or, a occcupational RN can run a office either in a health care agent or in a community setting for infection control. A special trained hemodialysis RN with degree can also work as a clinical educator for a huge hemodialysis machine company, ect.
tons of options if you really want to try. Good luck. I do not know if my son is a talent to become a doctor or not, so just take it easy for a career plan for now. No push. Haha.

thanks -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-3 (#3300769@0)
请教众JJMM，在SPECIALITY的UNIT里，象POST PARTUM，ICU，HEMODIALYSIS， OR里，是否还是要伺候病人上厕所，清洁病人？象我们这样英语不是很好的移民，有无机会进SPECIALITY UNIT？谢谢 -newlabour(labour); 2006-11-8 (#3309356@0)

In BC, there are no care aids in specialty care units, the RN do everything for the patients. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-8 {485} (#3309455@0)
Also, it usually requires 2 years med/surg working experiences before you move on nursing specialty courses. There are more mental stresses in ER and ICU than med/surg floor, the experiences is important support. The most important thing is you love the job itself. All patients have their own dignity, and they only need you help in their fragile period of life. I take it as my honor to help them, even I have to wipe the butt some times. Take things easy, it is your job for living.

That's so true! -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-8 {649} (#3309532@0)
I was having problem with it in the begining of my nursing job. Now it's OK.
Another issue is how you handle your emotion when patient dies or suffers. I thought after all those years of experience, I was coping well with it already. But it's not.
Last week I had a 22 years old patient involved in a bad car accident, he was the passager. We resucscitated him 4 times in the night and could not bring him back, his parents stopped us and cried loudly : "let him go, it's OK, thank you, everybody". When his wife brought his 2 month old baby and the family were crying. It broke everybody to tears. IT IS SADEST THING IN THE WORLD, I THINK!

You are brave. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-8 {541} (#3310017@0)
I could not tolerate anymore work in ICU and decided to quit at least half way out since a young girl suddenly died of PE after all sorts of resuscitations. The whole ICU team paticipated in the girl's funeral to support the single mom who also had a son died the year before. There are too many sad stories in ICU, all kinds of life and death issues. Looking at the vivid life just disappeared is really a suffering. Technically, it is an exciting practicing area. However, you have to be emotionly very strong person working in that area.

What's the difference between RN and nurse practitioner? normally nurse practitioner has higher rate. -lile601(lile601); 2006-11-2 {145} (#3299918@0)

Nowadays it requires master degree to become nurse anesthetist. Nurse anesthetist has good pay, the average in the states is between 100k - 120k.

Hi, are you interested in working in States? I guess it's easier in states to get the nurse practioner's qualification and jobs. -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3300554@0)
how are you? -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-7 (#3307113@0)

suggestion -cococandy(Summer); 2006-11-2 {88} (#3300243@0)

How about working as a Pain Service nurse. Paid better and does not have to work shifts.

The pain service nurses I met in our critical care unit are all either nurse practitioner or advanced practise nurse. That's not an easy position to apply. -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-2 (#3300559@0)

Have thought of an instructor position or even teaching? I do not know what your goal is though, just my thinking. -cococandy(Winter); 2006-11-3 (#3300694@0)

maybe teaching for preparing nursing exams in part-time, for now, I still wants to remain as a full-time critical care nurse. I am looking for something in part-time -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-3 (#3300774@0)

nursing practitioner在加拿大的position是不是非常少啊？反正没有看到几个招人的。好像美国的这种机会比较多。nurse anesthetist在加拿大有吗？你是在安省吗？安省的nurse是不是也都是工会的？工资是不是也是固定的？ -zhu(猪头); 2006-11-3 {59} (#3300707@0)

我们NS的象你这样工作年限的都是30一个小时，不知道安省如何？

There is no nurse anesthetist in Ontario for now. Ontario nurses have an union: ONA (www.ona.org). -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-3 {331} (#3300778@0)
For full-time nurses, hourly rate is based on our contracts which is due for another renewal now. I have 7 yrs experiences, but with my degree in nursing, they push me up 1 level to the maximum of RN pay which is $35.8/hr. Personally I guess when we get the new contracts, the maximum rate will increase 3%. By the way, what's NS?

Nova Scotia, the poor province on the east coast. You mean you have the RN degree? It is a must in NS. I heard that some people are making over 100k here with the overtime. Is that the same in Ontario? -zhu(猪头); 2006-11-3 (#3301935@0)

yeah, ontario nurses easily make 100k with OT , for the full-time nurses, it's difficult as the maximum is 35.8/hr, -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-3 {498} (#3302506@0)

In AB, RN got paid double for OT. U can always pick up OT if you want to. But if someone works 90 hours biweekly, it would be too stressful unless she/he does not have kids. -cococandy(Winter); 2006-11-3 (#3302576@0)

90hrs/biwkly is not based on the hrs you physically worked, -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-4 {397} (#3302830@0)

But she/he does not have the job security, right? Otherwise why less people want to be Agency nurse? -zhu(猪头); 2006-11-4 (#3302673@0)

agency nurses in critical care unit do not worry about geting shifts, -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-4 {318} (#3302834@0)

We had agent RNs in ICU, and I got the chance to talk to them. Personally, I do not like the position although they get higher pay, and plus work related travlling and accomoditions. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-5 {706} (#3304268@0)
They have to accept the job today here, and tomorrow the other hospital in the other city without enough orientations. It is not a job security issues, but a safety issues. The RNs have to have really good experiences to accomdate themselves into very different working settings. There are lots of stress during between for different hopital policies, and different ward cultures, and different patient population. It is not suitable for a immigrant RN at all. What is more, as you mentioned there are mostly night or weekend shifts, which are not likely to be picked up by regular staffs. Also, it is not fit for a mom with young kids. The agent RNs I metwere either single, or old with grown-up children.

you are right! are you doing full-time 12hrs schedule? -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-5 (#3304320@0)

Yes, I am. I enjoyed my full-time position as a hemodialysis RN, and once a while, the casual positions in cardiac telemetry and ICU settings. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-6 {286} (#3304623@0)
It keeps my skill refreshing, and I can choose the casual schedule on my own interest. I love it. Sometimes, money is not as important as you enjoy the work itself. It is your value and enjoyment to help people around there. Keeping your license as a safe practice record is also a key.

thank you for your reply! -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-6 {250} (#3305386@0)
Hemodialysis nurse is a good option, I may consider it.
I did enjoy working with the hemodialysis nurses in our CrCU, most of them are asian in my hospital, they do help me in taking care of the patient. I bet you must be a wonderful dialysis nurse!

这下比较清楚了，不过晚班比较轻松一些吧，也许这可能比较好。 -zhu(猪头); 2006-11-5 (#3304383@0)

Too much night shifts are not good for your health for the long run. It is true of the saying that the health is for the money before 50 years old, and the money will be for the health after 50 years old. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-5 (#3304743@0)
night shifts is not always easier. -timtom(Boys); 2006-11-6 {203} (#3305374@0)
But it may work for the family with small kids. In my case, I have 2 young children at home and I prefer to be around in the week days' day time, so I am kind of sacrificing myself to work more nights.

Take care. For me, after years of hard working, as a nurse, sleeping in my own home bed every night is a very specific happiness. I love my this job more. -tearen(茶人); 2006-11-8 (#3309273@0)

@Edmonton

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Working Life系列之 Working as a registered nurse

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