Any nurses on here?

[caleo]

I am struggling to find some specific information regarding nutrition in hospitals and the community in BC. I have found they have a really good programme of home support in Alberta.....but far too cold for me, and definately not as pretty!

I have specialised in Nutrition for many years and would take alot to get back into general nursing again - although I will do that if I have to!

I have looked on the dietetic sites, but can't seem to find anything for nurses in this field.

Anyone have any idea?

Thanks

[SivoxII]

Hi caleo!

To the best of my knowledge, we used to have 2-3 nurse/nurse related members around A-OK, but haven't seen them around for a while now.

I wish I could help, but can only suggest checking out Interior Health's website or Healthlink BC ... they may help you?


When you say you specialise in "Nutrition" ... I'm not sure if there is a contrasting connection, but the word I hear a lot around these parts is typically "Dietition" over "Nutritionist" ... again, not sure if that's a valid comparison or not??

Sorry I couldn't give you any clearer leads , but will keep my ear to the ground.

[manchesterchick]

Hi ,
I am a nurse, trained as an Rn in England(many moons ago ) and then did the exam over here for Nursing.
I am not working here yet,(only just got here literally ) but generally there shortage appears to be in acute care.
I have not worked in acute care for 4 years, I worked in a nurse led walk in centre as a nurse practioner(although my degree is general)
Any questions that you have I will try to answer.
I do know that to practice as an RN over here, you have to take the rn exam here, which is split into 4, psych, paeds, adult and maternity, multiple choice, then youhave to do 250 hrs supervised practice with an employer before you get you license. You can work with a temp license prior to taking the exam, but you still need to take the exam regardless at some point.
What exactly were you doing in the Uk, was it like eneteral specialist nurse/gastro??
Hope this helps in some way, as I say fire any questions you like to me, and I will try to help

[4d32ftw]

my oh is a phsyc nurse. she prob can't answer direct questions in your field but can no prob asnswer general questions.

oh and she didn't do 250 hours of supervised. she was just on orientation until she passed her exam

[caleo]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I specialise mainly in artificial feeding - enteral and parenteral in the community. I am not a nutritionist, but work closely with dietitians, who deal with the feeding, I deal with the tubes/sites/emotional support/training etc.

I have contacted the nurses in Alberta who will hopefully be able to give me some leads regarding this.

Manchesterchick - I have been following you over the past few weeks and getting quite excited for you as the time got nearer! I hope all is going okay...and not too scary for you! I have all the details regarding the exams etc, and have started to work through all the stuff I need to study. I was just interested to know about this because I was really excited to find that there are nurses there who specialise in the same field as me . I don't mind what happens initially, but i love the area of work I am in, so would be wonderful if I could continue with it over there eventually. Hubby is Canadian, so getting the PR should not be a problem, just the nurses exam and the driving test! ;-), both of which I will worry about when I am there.

As far as the 250 hours, I was told that it is the newer trained nurses who need this, as they had insufficient huors in the training regarding the other areas ie they now train as only adult nurses? Well, since project 2000 anyway? I trained before this and covered all the areas, so hopefully it won't be an issue. Not major if it is though. When did you train? I qualified in 1991.

Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine....it is raining and horrible here!

[manchesterchick]

HI Caleo,
I qualified in 1990 and have been told I still need to do 250 hrs supervised practice here, but that is BC , it may be different for other provinces. I traditionally trained and then did the diploma and degree afterwards.I have worked in all areas after qualifying, medical , surgical, ccu, and then walk in center which i love.
I would not worry about the exam, I have already done it and passed it. I won't lie and say it was easy(although some people will have you believe that) but it is definitely doable.You just need to brush up on a few things thats all!
Once you get your stuff assessed for the eligibility of taking the exam, then you get a book with some practice questions on it. You have to pay for it! I did the exam on a recce trip over here. I took it in Oct 2007, while I was still working in the UK. I just wanted to make sure I had it before I started work ,as I thought there was enough to worry about without having to an exam on top. he NMC had trouble finding my original transcript for training( as I trained in the year dot and the Nursing school had shut) but they found it eventually so all was well!
I would love to stay in the area I was in (nurse led walk in centre) but alas unless I had a msc in the fiels, it appears to be a no go.
I have the driving issue to worry about too I am absolutely dreading it.
Where do you plan to live when you come over?
We are in Kelwona at the moment and this week I need to knuckle down and start looking for jobs.
Anything else you want to know just ask.I will try to help as much as I can. Good luck

[caleo]

again!!

Manchesterchick - I must apologise for not replying to your last post on my question! Extremely rude of me!

We are still planningon kelowna, so would be looking at nursing there hopefully!

Our plans have been on hold for a bit, while I do my BSC(hons). I was given the opportunity to do it, and after putting in over 20 years with the NHS, thought I might as well get something out of it! I will finish my degree in June next year, which will also hopefully help me with work etc over there!

We are applying for PR through the spousal sponsorship route, so all should go through fairly quickly, and hopefully without any hitches. We are looking at getting my medical done in August and then sending our application off - from what I have gathered on other forums, if straightforward, should be done in 5 months or so, but as long as it is before my medical expires I will be happy .

So, now to my problem. I have been looking at sorting out my registration, and I see they have now got the SEC exam for some applicants. Unfortunately, it does not say who is likely to have to have this exam and who isn't. I want to start my application, but am concerned that if I have to do the SEC exams, I will have to do them in a specific time period etc, andit has got me really worried.

I have been trying to find out any information about the timelines etc, but nothing has come up.I know that I get 2 years from the CRNBC accepting me and sitting my CRNE,but there is nothing stated for the SEC. Most of the info on other forums is more about people complaining about having to do the SECs, which is not my issue.

I trained in 1988 - 1991. I emailed our university yesterday regarding transcripts, and they phoned me today and have all the info. It states the hours etc for trauma, midwifery, paeds, psychy etc,so I am hoping that it will be okay for me and that I won't have to do the SEC.

Does anyone have any information or any colleagues etc regarding this?

Time lines and planning on when to send in which forms are driving me insane, and to find an extra thing now, is making it even worse!!!

Thanks
caleo

[manchesterchick]

Hi Caleo,
I will tell you what I know .....some of it is what I know for sure, and some of it has been gleamed from a friend who is kind of going through the process.
As far as I am aware all RN's that are coming to work in Canada have to do the CRNE exam.
Now in BC I believe they have also added the SEC thing too.
So, according to my friend, you have to complete all the SEC things BEFORE you can be entered to do the RN exam.
The lady I refer to is already here, but not working, she is just going through the processes.
I dont know about timelines though.
I also don't know when they brought the SEC things in either.
So, I guess I am not much help really.

I did my RN exam in 2007 so lucky for me that 's all I needed to do. Then after that you have to do 250 hrs of supervised practice, which is fine.
Surely someone must be able to have more information from CRNBC?
I'll see if I can find out anything more from work.
Let me know how it goes.

[caleo]

Thanks again MC. I have read and read and researched and googled - but it is still so unclear! I was all set with having to do the CRNE which is not a problem, and certainly not an issue, as I will be able to work there for a while before doing the exam - which will hopefully give me more of an idea of how nurses work over there. Supervised practice too, is fine.

The problem comes with the SEC. Apparently with this, you do not find out whether you need to do this, or how many days of the 5 you have to do, until you have applied to the CRNE. Once they let you know that you have to do it, you have to do it within a year of applying - you can't work until the results are known - which can take quite a while from what I have been reading. Getting over to canada to do the SEC before we leave is not going to be easy, and this is why i wanted to know whther EVERY international nurse needs to do it or not. The only nurses I have seen discussing the issue so far have been nurses who may not have English as a first language (filipino and asian), and a few newly qualified from the UK.

Looks like I will have to hold off my application to the BC nursing board till we send all our other stuff off, that way, if I do have to do the SEC, I can do it after we have landed - although this will mean extra time for me with no income.

It would be so much easier if they said which nurses would need to do the SEC and which would not. But there you go, another hurdle ;-)

If you do hear any more, would appreciate it if you could let me know!

How are you finding working over there? Are you working on a general ward?

Thanks again
caleox

[caleo]

I emailed CRNBC today - hopefully they will be able to give me more of a time line