You’re a newly qualified nurse looking for work in Canada, but could starting a career in the US provide greater long-term opportunities? Here, we discuss how heading stateside could offer a broader range of career options and a faster track to achieving your educational and financial goals.
Not The Best Start?
Back in 2017, Employment and Social Development Canada predicted that nursing employment growth in the country would be among the highest of all occupations in the coming decade. As yet, this hasn’t happened, and data from job search site Indeed suggests that the number of nurses in Canada has flatlined in recent years.
Despite news of a 77 percent increase in nursing job vacancies since 2015, nurses in Canada are still reporting a lack of employment options and career development opportunities. This lack of options can have a detrimental effect on nursing graduates, in particular, who, despite needing to gain vital experience, are often only able to secure temporary or part-time roles in Canada.
What’s The Best Option?
A study found that new graduates from Atlantic Canada identified greater job availability, full-time work, appropriate orientation, benefits, and career development opportunities as the key factors that influenced their decision to migrate to the US.
The country has a substantial nursing shortage and relies on foreign talent to bolster its workforce. Newly-qualified nurses can start practicing immediately in the US, gaining valuable skills and marketable experience that will stand them in good stead long into the future.
Plus, Canadian nurses benefit from a financial standpoint in America. While remuneration differs state-by-state, average US salaries are higher at C$99,222 compared to C$75,680 in Canada.
The US is looking for nurses across a broad range of healthcare facilities, so newly-qualified nurses are not limited to one type of workplace. For example, rural US locations provide the chance to work in long-term care facilities that not only offer new work experience opportunities but open up a vast range of career development paths that nurses may not have considered before.
Where Can I Find Out More?
Coming Soon: Our free guide “The Land of Opportunity: Why Canadian Nurses Are Relocating To The US (And How You Can Too!).
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