Inspired by our Canadian nurses who have recently moved for a nursing career opportunity, here are our top 3 reasons to consider a move stateside.
1. Opportunities
It probably won’t come as news that now is a difficult time to be an RN in Canada. Hit by a time of austerity, the Canadian nursing industry has faced devastating cuts over the past couple of years which has resulted in a high number of layoffs from cash-strapped hospitals. While the number of nurses left searching for work continues to grow in Canada, the story couldn't be more different for their stateside neighbors.
Known as "the land of opportunity," the USA is certainly proving to be just that for the international nurses who are flocking there to fill positions in what is the nation’s fifth largest occupation! According to this article in The Wall Street Journal, this surge in nursing positions is due to the ‘retirement wave’ the country is currently facing as well as ‘staff expanding programmes’. With many hospitals not being able to hire fast enough to match an ever-growing population, there really is no better time to grab your fob watch and head to the USA.
2. Cost of Living
If the lack of fewer job openings in Canada isn’t enough to persuade you, what about the high cost of living paired with the much lower pay? In a recent article by the Huffington Post, it was suggested that Canada is the fifth-most expensive country in the world to live in. Nearly half of people living in urban areas say the cost of buying a home in their neighborhood is either “high” or “unreasonably high” according to a February 2016 survey of Canadian adults by the Angus Reid Institute. Whereas the average price of a house in North Carolina, one of our popular nursing locations, is $144,600.
Factor into this the opportunity to earn a lot more as an RN in the U.S. than Canada. The average starting salary for a nurse in the US is between $20 and $35. Compare this to the average salary in Canada which is 31C$ ($24) and it’s hard not to be swayed.
3. THE ADVENTURE!
Last but by no means least, making the move from Canada to the USA will not only give you the opportunity to work in a new country but it will allow you to make lasting friendships and provide you with some wonderful experiences. What’s better is that Canadian nurses are able to travel to the U.S. on a TN visa, meaning you won’t have to wait long at all to start your adventure south of the border. If this isn’t enough, then there’s always the weather.
Working in the USA as a nurse is a big change from nursing in Canada, but it can be a great experience to head south for a new adventure. So if you fancy exchanging Alberta for Alabama, New Brunswick for New Hampshire, or Ontario for Ohio, then apply with us today and find out how Conexus MedStaff supports Canadian nurses in the U.S.