Hi everyone,
Just wondering on the off chance if there are any UK nurses who have moved to :scared: Toronto. I am moving hopefully at the end of this year from Manchester after hopefully passing the dreaded exam in Oct. To be honest I am very apprehensive about the change but at the same time excited. I would love to hear from you. Incidently I have provisionally got a job at Sunnybrook hospital and would appreciate any advice about this area in particular and the hospital.

Nicola

Hi Nicloa,
I am also going to be in Canada (Burlington, Ontario) hopefully this time next year, and like you feel apprehensive but excited at the same time. I have passed the exam and am now registered, but, obviously not granted a licence to work as i haven't yet got my visa. It would appear Canada are as desperate for nurses as the UK is, so i'm hoping finding a job won't be too much of a problem. Do you know what the holidays, shift patterns etc are like? I have heard that nurses don't do too badly for holidays, but i'm unsure what the exact allocation is. If you know, could you please let me know? Have you got the exam prep book? You can order it over the internet and i found it quite helpful. Don't get too stressed out over the exam, it won't be as bad as you're expecting.
GOOD LUCK Susan.

I work in the ICU at one of the downtown hospitals. A lot of my colleagues also do agency/casual work at Sunnybrook and most of the stuff I hear about it is pretty good - which dept are you going to be working in?

Shift patterns vary depending on the hospital - I do 2 days, 2 nights, 5 off but there are lots of variations.

There isn't a huge nursing shortage over here though they reckon there will be over the next few years, if you are experienced you should be ok, some of the new grads are finding it difficult to get jobs in the areas they want. A lot of people have to travel downtown to work as the local hospitals don't always recruit full-time staff, or you are waiting for people to retire/die as they tend to stay in the same place for years. My local hospital take nurses first as casual (no benefits), then will maybe offer part-time if they think you are ok, eventually you hopefully get full-time - so I prefer to commute. I have a couple of colleagues who commute from Burlington - but if you take the train the times are not good and you spend a lot of time hanging about in Union station - the train times to Ajax fit in very well with my hours if I am not getting a lift to and from work.

Holidays are poor compared to the UK, I have been here 2 years and get 3 weeks holiday and 12 stat holidays - so it is quite a bit less. It is all dictated by ONA so you can't negotiate your holidays, and they follow pretty strict rules. You have to have the equivalent of every other weekend off, if you work christmas you work all of it (christmas eve, day and boxing day), New year you work the Eve and the Day.

If you have any more questions you can send me a message and I will try to answer.

Hi Susan

Just read your thread about passing the exam. where did you do this? In England? and if so could you send me some info. Which books did you find best to revise from and was it difficult????? We are currently in process!!! I suppose if I could get the test out of the way it would be less stress when or if we ever get to canada. Currently working as a district nursing sister in this country but am sure that will change once we move.

Thanks

Susan

Hi Susan,
Hope your application process is going ok. Mine is at a bit of a standstill although I have a job offer like you I just want to get the exam done. Also waiting for a house sell. I have found a good website called certinurse.com to prepare for the exam. Unfortunately the exam has got to be done in Canada. The grading over there appears to be based on years of experience as I was a bit worried as like you I am a sister here in ICU. Good luck and keep me posted.

Nicola
Audenshaw, Manchester

Hi Susan,
I took the exam over in Canada. I sat mine in Hamilton, if you contact the College of Nurses of Ontario, they will send you the application forms along with the dates the exam is taken, and a choice of venue. I got the revision book from ; www. cna-nurses.ca. It also comes with a cd rom which has 2 practice exams on it. I found the questions are a bit different to ones i'd seen before. They cover paediatrics, psychiatry, obsteterics etc. as well as general nursing. On the whole the exam wasn't too bad, i felt more daunted by being in a room with 300 other people, and not knowing a soul!! Have you had all your transcripts verified by the CNO yet?
If i can help you further, don't hesitate to ask.
Good Luck,
Susan.

Hi Nicola,
How far into the application process are you? We had our AOR March 2004, and just had an update on our case and have been told we will hear something in September, so not long now. Hopefully this will be our call for medicals! I wonder if years of experience over here will count when being graded in Canada? I hope so as i've been qualified 25yrs!!! I'm currently working in CCU so will have to wait and see once i get there.
Good Luck Susan.

Susan & Nicola,

I am a nurse currently living in Oswaldtwistle (nr Blackburn) who lived in the GTA 13yrs ago (was a permanent resisdent then but had to return to the UK after 3yrs for various reasons) and am planning to return to live in the GTA for good in the next few weeks (just waiting for our so sloooow house sale to complete... thought we would have moved out ages ago (sigh!).

Anyway, I dont know if this helps but I can only relate my experiences from the early 90's. (WARNING - this may put you off but keep reading as it gets better ) I was recruited by Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH) so at least had a job to go to, but they lied to me!! They said I would be working 8hr shifts with the occaisonal nights, would be given year for year credit on the pay scale (would have put me on top rate), and be provided with an apartment to rent.
When we actually got there (this is a year later mind you after completing the immigration process) the job turned into 12hr shifts on a two week days two weeks nights rotation and my pay would be credited one year on the scale for every TWO I had been qualified in the UK, AND the so called apatrment was a room in the interns resisdence! Now I was with my wife (3mths pregnant) and two young sons aged 6 and 4 so to say we were not impressed or happy is an understatement!! Also they had told me I would be working in their brand new Intensive Care facilities - but no they put me on a urology floor!
Anyway, I stuck it out for 3mths (hated every minute) and then walked into a spinal cord injury hospital and got everything I wanted - full credit for my experience, 8 hr shifts (no nights) and had one of the best nursing jobs Ive ever experienced.
Incidentally we only lasted 2 weeks in the interns residence before renting a house - we moved in with 2 garden chairs to sit on and one inflatable mattress to sleep on (our furniture was being shipped from the UK but got caught in a dock strike and didnt arrive for 3 months!!!).

Currently I have a verbal offer of casual employment (I qualified as a Canadian RN back in 1989 and just had to renew my registration with the CNO which i did in December) which is something at least, as I am the main wage earner in our family so employment for me is vital (no doubt as it is to you). My concern is how long it will take to get permanent full time as the benefits package is important - just have to wait and see.

As Gail said, from my contacts in nursing in Ontario it pretty much seems to be that casual work is offered first and then you work your way in from there. One of the hardest things at first for me was the lack of holidays but I feel the different lifestyle makes up for it (I used to do far more at weekends etc than i ever have done living here in the UK).

Our first few months in Canada were not the best - no friends or family, crappy job, having to pay full rent immediately, no furniture etc etc, BUT I ended up loving the place and have always craved to return and now its finally happening (if our solicitors ever get their fingers out that is!!!!!).

Incidentally, just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the exams format has changed much (its not something Ive looked at)? I will always remember sitting in that army barracks in downtown Toronto enduring two days of multiple choice questions! Quite different from when I sat in a small classroom in the education center at Burnley General Hospital doing 5 essays and then one multiple choice paper back in 1982... I passed the Canadian exams first time though which is the important thing as I needed that pay rise from graduate nurse (as i was initially paid) to qualified RN.

Good luck with the immigration process...
Ian

Hi Ian,
What a coincidence, i actually work on CCU at Burnley General! The exam i took in Hamilton last year was held at the Convention Centre, and only lasted for the day, (paper 1 in the morning, paper 2 in the afternoon). Are you thinking of returning to the same area of Canada, or are you having a change?
Hope everything works out well for you,
Susan.

Hi Susan,

Small world isnt it?
Long time since I worked in BGH although my last full time nursing post was Charge Nurse at Pendle Community Hospital (did 2 yrs and then couldnt stand it any longer!), was at Blackburn as G grade before that - I left to gain experience in ICT and teaching and gained a teaching qualification from the University of Huddersfield (keep my nursing going through agency work) - think I had a mid life crisis and needed a break from full time nursing.

If your CCU trained and have quals in that area them Im sure you will find it easier to find work. I only did a very brief spell in ICU and had hoped to get into the field by our move to TEGH when they intially offered me a post there, but alas it wasnt to be. Ended up in spinal cord injury rehab - which i loved, and then had almost 10yrs in G.U.medicine, and have done urology, orthopaedics, elderly rehab, ENT... alsorts really. Plus I'm now teaching qualified and have ICT quals. I'm hoping I might be able to find additional work teaching in the colleges - its all ifs and maybe's.... a scary but exciting time.

In Canada we lived initially in East York (where my daughter was born) and then in Unionville (northern edge of city next to Markham). We are thinking of living either back around Unionville/Markham or maybe move as far out as Newmarket. As far as staying within commuter distance of Toronto we keep being drawn north, we look east and west of Toronto but theres something keeps bringing us back northwards! Would love to live futher out of the city but obviously its all dictated by whereever the work is! We made friends with a couple who moved to london,Ontario and its seems nice in that area. Having said all that we really enjoyed living in East York - wasnt like living in a city at all, easily managed without the expense of a car for almost 2 years as well, but we just look at what you get for your money (housewise) outside the city compared to TO and its not really a choice.

We will be renting for first year or maybe two and then looking to buy. By that time all our `kids` will have their own cars and so we will have more options on where to live (we hope).

My wife is always spending time on the MLS website looking at houses.. dreaming of what might be...

Ian

Hi Ian,
I have my ENB 124 but not sure whether this will count over in Canada. i, like your wife am an MLS junkie, but looking in the Burlington area. Hope the exchange rate :scared: will have improved by the time we are ready to make the move!
Susan.

Hi all,
Just getting slightly alarmed about the working conditions in canada now especially after ians thread. The exam does not worry me as much now after reading threads from susan. The thing which worries me now(not always this worried by the way!) is hours, days off etc. The stage I am at is that I have been offered a position in cardiothoracic critical care at sunnybrook hospital. I am still waiting to be offered entitlement to practice by cno, visas and consequently apply for my exam. I am going across with an agency called beresford blake and thomas. I have been told that I will do 12hr shifts but that is what I do here. Also as holidays is based on yrs of service I have been told I will get 4 weeks holiday plus stat holidays. Which although not the same as here I am hoping that the quality of life will make up for this. So what I am wanting to hear of is positive nursing experiences and if anyone knows about sunnybrook and of anyone who has gone across with this agency.
speak to you soon
Nicola(Audenshaw, Manchester)
Incidently back in 2000 I did my enb124 with nurses from Burnley.

The exchange rate is a real sickener - will have to try and leave as much as we can in uk funds and hope it gets better - or may be not - its all a gamble isnt it.
It was also typical for us that when we put our house up for sale the market ground to a halt. We had originally planned to be in Canada by Easter - maybe I should have thought by easter 2006! We are hoping to get there for `the Ex` as we dont want to miss it.

Nicola,

Didnt mean to put you off, I was just unfortunate with my initial experience. Just be prepared that Canadian nursing is different from here in the UK but that it does depend on where you work. I remember that one of the things I didnt expect was just how many drugs have different names which threw me a bit at first. Also for me at the time I was used to the old method of two nurses doing medicine rounds etc and it was a shock to do them completely on my own (especially with the horrendous ticket system they had then at TEGH). TEGH in 1989 did not have a good reputation among British nurses - most hated it, but the second hospital I worked at was totally different. Sunnybrook had a good reputation but that was in the early 90s and so I cant comment about now. Its like taking a new job here in that until you work in an area you dont really know if you will like it.

Allow yourself time to adjust, be prepared for maybe an initially steep learning curve and you will be fine.

You will get 4 weeks straight off (is that because of the agency?) - thats good as often you have to `earn` them. I had to work for a year before having my first holiday and each year they built up.

As I said I ultimately ended up loving the place.
Cheers
Ian

Totally with you on this, I do worry bout that, why can't everyone just stick with generic names?! Just got a new batch of medics on my unit at MRI who keep prescribing brand names, finally lost my rag with one yesterday!!