Permanent Residency – Check!

It’s been almost 6 months since first arriving in Canada and the immigration process is finally complete, almost 2 years to the day from starting with my nursing credential assessment process. After starting my Canadian job on November 27th 2017, the next thing to do was apply for permanent residency (PR) via express entry. A […]

Is it “All About the Money, Money, Money”?

The reason I became a nurse had very little to do with financial reward. A major benefit of nursing is knowing that there is a job for you somewhere. It’s a little morbid but people will always get sick and there will always be someone who will be in need of a nurse. Job security […]

First Impressions – The Job

Optimistic – Is the one word I’d use for my first impression. I’m working with a great team, they have been so welcoming and friendly. The whole team is made up of people from all over the world, Jamaica, Australia, South Africa, as well as from all over Canada. This brings together a really eclectic mix […]

The Arrival

Taking my vacation at the end of one job and before the start of a new one seemed like an amazing idea. 2 weeks on a cruise ship with family and friends to relax. Leg 1: Sailing from Southampton UK to Miami FL and a few days in the sun. What could be wrong with […]

IELTS Horror

It’s taken me almost a week for the stress of IELTS to subside so that I can talk about it. This makes it sound like the test is really hard… strangely (adverb) it is! I expected, as a native English speaker, for a basic (adjective) English (Proper noun) test (noun) to be a like walk […]

Coffee break moaning or critically reflective practice?

Do we complain and moan? Almost certainly, everyone does this from time to time. Do we constructively and critically discuss the problems we observe and encounter with those in a position to improve things? I suspect this is far less frequent an activity. In nursing school, we were all taught to be critical. I remember […]

Is the Grass Always Greener?

Is the grass always greener? Is change as good as a rest? Or, should everyone get a pair of rose-tinted glasses so they can see only the good in the world around them? I consider myself to be generally optimistic about the world, my glass is mostly have full. However, a couple of challenging work […]

Making Preparations

The job secured (or as much as it can be until I physically step through the doors on day 1), now time to start getting my Yukon nursing license sorted, work visa application, occupational health clearance and the moving day plans all lined up. The first one on the list should be pretty straightforward. I […]

Finding a Job: Does Canada Have a Nursing Deficit?

Early 2016, I remember reading a whole load of posts on forums, news media and professional organisations (http://careersinnursing.ca/new-grads-and-job-seekers/find-nursing-job/nursing-job-market) talking about the nursing deficit in Canada. My eventual conclusion was that the Job market in Canada for RN’s was a little complicated but there were vacancies available. Perhaps naively, I thought that my 12 years experience […]

Let’s Talk Money!

I knew there was going to be a significant cost to make the Canadian dream come true. But wow! For anyone thinking about doing this, here is the amount it has cost me to date in fees (not taking account of the amount of time). The total (which I have given in USD, CAD and […]