Oct 2 2025 Community Q&A for U.S. healthcare workers curious about nursing in B.C., hosted by Tod, with Kelli, an RN in Vancouver.

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Listen to the audio of this session:

kelli_rn.mp3

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Who is Kelli?

• RN since 1996, bachelors in nursing.
• Specialties, labour and delivery (primary), ER at a Level 1 trauma centre, event medicine, and casual work in police cells.
• Works across two health authorities.

How nursing works in B.C.

• Unionised: Almost all hospital nursing is union. Breaks are protected on paper. Enforcement varies by unit acuity and staffing.
• Shifts: Mostly 12-hour, 07:00 to 19:00 and 19:00 to 07:00. Common rotation is two days, two nights, five off. Pure day lines are rare and seniority based.
• Full-time hours: 37.5 hours per week standard.
• Scheduling: Rotations are fixed far in advance. Swaps via unit processes or WhatsApp/Facebook groups. Some self-swap options with manager approval.
• Casual/PRN: Called “casual.” Widely used, but immigration paths usually require a 0.8 FTE or higher. Casuals earn fewer premiums.

Pay and premiums

• Base (Island Health, shared in chat): RNs start at $41.42/hr, LPNs at $32.84/hr, before premiums.
• Steps: Experience credited. Annual step increases to year 10, then less frequent. Some “long-service” bumps.
• Premiums stack: Typical figures mentioned, nights about +$5/hr, weekends about +$2.50/hr, weekend nights and charge pay add more. Specialty pay available.
• Take-home reality: U.S. wages are often higher. Nurses in B.C. cited comfortable single-income living with renting, not owning, as one example.

Training and moving between specialties

• Health authorities fund post-basic specialty education for areas like ER, LDR, ICU, PACU. An 18-month return-of-service is common.
• Experienced U.S. specialty nurses are not typically asked to redo entire programs, but will get local orientation.