Big List of "Back-Up" Plans for Premeds- Part 4: Nursing

This is Part 4 of my Big List of "Back-Up" Plans for Premeds series, intended to give a brief introduction to some alternate careers in health care that premeds might consider pursuing.

I would like to introduce nursing as a career, and accelerated nursing programs that you can enter after having completed some university work. 

What does a nurse actually do?

• Nurses perform a wide range of duties, from:
• Technical- i.e. monitoring the patient's vital signs, I.V.s & medical devices, collecting samples.
• Administrative/Educative- maintaining records, triage, educating public & families.
• Clinical- assess the patient, evaluate care diagnostic testing, dispensing medication, small procedures.
• Counseling support for patients and families as well as personal hygiene.
• ...and many more. There are thousands of things that nurses do and I can't compress that into a neat list.
• Nurses work in a variety of settings- direct care, research, education, public health, etc. Find out more at the Canadian Nurses Association.

I think one of the greatest benefits for nursing is that there are a lot of things you can do with a nursing degree after graduation- there are a lot of choices that you can take advantage of. Furthermore, the role and scope of nursing is always expanding in Canada.

Possibility of further training

• With further training, nurses are able to extend the scope of their practice. There are advanced training opportunities available for Registered Nurses, such as:
• Anesthesia assistant, advanced life support (cardiac, pediatric, etc) certificates
• Procedure-based training such as ultrasound, sonography
• Research training- clinical research associate
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Administration
• Nurse practitioner- NPs act as primary health care providers, functioning autonomously at a similar level of scope and authority as family physicians/physician assistants/etc. You can become an NP by going through advanced programs (usually Master of Nursing, Nurse Practitioner programs) after becoming a RN.

With that said, since this is a "Back-Up" series I will only write regarding Accelerated Nursing programs which have shorter time frames (~2 years) than regular nursing programs (~4 years).

Important points regarding Accelerated Nursing Programs in Canada:

• Generally 2-year long programs entering at Level III (third year) of regular nursing programs, includes both theory and clinical components.
• Often require X number of university credits (usually 10 full course credits= 2 full years), and ~B averages (~75%, 3.0).
• Prerequisite courses generally include physiology, anatomy, psychology, statistics. Check school websites for details.
• There are plenty of accelerated nursing programs, ranging from 1.8 to 3.5 years in length.

For the purpose of this post, here are some Accelerated Nursing Programs at major universities (all 2 years or under):

Less than 2 years:
UBC- Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, with advanced standing
Western- Compressed BScN Program
McMaster- BScN Basic- Accelerated Stream (20 Months)

2-year programs:
Alberta- BScN-After Degree Program
Memorial- Bachelor of Nursing Fast-Track Options
Dalhousie- BScN Degree Accelerated Options (2-3 years)
York- 2nd Entry Bachelor of Science in Nursing
U of T- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Queen's- Advanced standing track program

Potential salary & Job security/market

As you may already know, nurses usually have no problem finding a job. In 2010, 93.4% of RNs were employed in nursing, 1.8% outside of nursing, while only 2.7% were unemployed. For Nurse Practitioners, 97.3% were employed in nursing, 0.6% outside of nursing, and only 0.9% unemployed. Considering there were 287,344 RNs and 2554 NPs in 2010, I would say the job security for nurses look great.

Salaries are based on:

• Seniority/experience
• For example, hospital nurses in Ontario are paid according to a "grid" where salary increases with each year of experience for RNs.
• Starting salary is $30.17/hr ($58,831.50 annual), while after 5 years it's $36.12/hr ($70,434.00).
• Amount of additional training
• RNs with advanced training are paid slightly more, along with increased flexibility and scope of their practice in terms of locations, hours, etc. For example, salary for NPs range from $80,000 to +$100,000, which is significantly higher than average RN salaries.
• Location
• Similar to other healthcare professions, pay differs from province to province.

Nurses have a huge variety of options in employment and practice along with great job security- which makes nursing all the more attractive as an alternative profession in healthcare. Consider nursing before thinking about leaving Canada for international medical schools that are associated with increasing restrictions & difficulties (along with a huge price tag) of coming back to Canada.

Matt