Vet Nursing In Canada

Re: Vet Nursing In Canada

miranda luck — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:28:45 GMT

Ok. That make sense. The place I was working in was downtown Vancouver and an OOH emergency specialist. I really should have done more research before going but I was on an adventure!

Re: Vet Nursing In Canada

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:21:45 GMT

I am a Vet Tech from Alberta, Canada. There is a huge demand for techs over here, and finding a job is not a problem for most people. We don't get paid as well as we should, but the techs in the cities tend to make more than in a rural community. The type of work can vary depending upon the practice you choose. I work in a small semi-rural small animal practice, and I do a little bit of everything. Sx prep, nursing care, sx assistant, reception work, lab work, taking radiographs, dental cleanings, anesthesia, etc. But that will be different if you worked with a mixed practice, emergency center, specialist center, or chose to specialize in something. We are techinically allowed to do everything, except preform surgery, diagnose anything, or prescribe medications, and we must work under the supervision of a veterinarian.

Each province has it's own governing body that we must be registered with to work in the country, and they vary slightly on the rules/regs. In general, we all must pass a national exam, pay annual dues, and maintain a minimum number of CE credits per year.

Your best bet would be to contact the association in each province you are interested in working in and discuss what the requirements are. Hope that helps!

Re: Vet Nursing In Canada

Anne Whipple RVN — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:26:02 GMT

I almost moved there earlier this spring. You'll need to contact the provincial association where you want to work and make sure your qualifications are recognized. (I qualified in Ireland and would have had to spend almost C$ 1000 to get mine assessed, not sure if it's different from the RCVS, as no one from Ireland had wanted to work there before). Anyway, after qualification assessment (assuming I passed), I'd have had to sit the NAVTE (north american vet tech exam) to get a license to work there.

I had planned to move to Manitoba. Their association website is www.mahta.ca- you might find some good links on it. The people I emailed with were all VERY helpful, I have to say.

I also did some work experience in the US where the techs did ALL the induction, surgery prep, ivs, xrays, dentals, etc, and the job ads I looked at for Canada seemed to imply similar duties.

Visas can be tricky too (although maybe that's not a problem for you). I found a great forum called www.loonlounge.com which is great for talking to a variety of people about their experiences and getting advice on moving, life there, etc.

Re: Vet Nursing In Canada

miranda luck — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:46:28 GMT

Hi Viki

I worked there about 10 years ago - so things may have changed. It was a bit of a shock as although I had checked my qualifications would be accepted prior to going there, the work load was really quite different. Specifically - GA's are carried out by specialists and absolutely no surgery, ivs, xrays etc were carried out by the VNs (equivalents are called Vet. Techs). The only technical aspect I could do was running automated lab tests and the rest of my day was general nursing and lots of admin and reception. I only stayed a month!

Best contact some actual practices prior to going to find out what your duties would be.

Hope thats of some help!

Miranda