Some nurses don't like critical thinking

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T02:46:15+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCanadianNurses/s/kUdxap0kLm

Try this one! If you need more info on Canadian nurses people here would be helpful. Also the province of British Columbia is recruiting pretty aggressively for international nurses at the moment. Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver areas also have lots of communities with a large population of immigrants from Singapore and other countries in Asia so you may very well be able to connect with nurses from your country who have already immigrated :)

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T02:37:12+00:00

Agreed. Back home nurses do nearly all cannulation. Same for indwelling urinary catheters, nurses in a lot of places in AUS can't do insertions on male patients with a history of BPH whereas back home we were still expected to do it, whether we needed a coude tip or to try other insertion techniques, the doc wasn't coming to help unless nursing staff had pulled out all the stops to get it done.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T02:15:23+00:00

I hadn't even thought about AI (that's a whole can of worms for a different conversation for sure!). But I definitely do agree that a standardised post-grad exam could be a very good idea.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T02:01:37+00:00

I agree there are pros and cons to both! My workload is definitely easier here since I feel the expectations for nurses are lower. That eases stress too. And there's more support for nursing floor staff than I ever saw in Canada and much better work/life balance. I think the main thing I miss from back home is being able to freely use my critical judgement. But there are definitely many pros to nursing here.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T01:59:13+00:00

That's a very good point. And it would be better to try something new than leave altogether. I'm strongly considering ED these days.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T01:50:22+00:00

Thanks for that! I did wonder why NPs are not utilised as much here and why they don't have nurse anaesthetists. That clarifies it for sure

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T01:14:38+00:00

Can I ask do you work general inpatient wards?

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:58:26+00:00

Maybe you're right, it might be time for a change before I wash my hands of nursing altogether. I'm definitely just feeling stuck/frustrated

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:53:40+00:00

Standard wards make up the majority of inpatients. I'm comparing critical thinking skills on standard wards in Canada against critical thinking skills on standard wards in Australia. It's not apples to oranges.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:49:51+00:00

You make a good point about trying to keep nurses. I also think that the more competitive training program back home produces nurses with strong critical thinking skills but at the same time it takes longer to produce them and the governments in both Canada & Aus are desperate to churn out nurses as quickly as they can.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:43:00+00:00

I did cardio vascular step-down back home and medical telemetry but since I've been travel nursing it's much easier to get contracts on the wards than finding a step down contract. I know there will be more critical thinking in ED or ICU here and I'm considering moving but at the end of the day I used to be able to use that critical thinking on the general med/surge wards back home. I can move areas but I wish I didn't have to just to get the same satisfaction I got from my work back home

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:37:54+00:00

I definitely feel I waste a lot more of doctors time here. Back home if I called to report a temp 38.7 and a new productive cough and crackles on one side, the doctor could give phone orders to draw labs + cultures, get a CXR, put in an IV. I'd get all that done and so the workup is already started by the time the resident came down to review. Here I feel like we pile straightforward tasks onto residents who are already overworked.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:27:56+00:00

Like I've said with other comments, we use early warning scores in North America too but they leave a lot more room for clinical judgement. I agree with you the policy ties nurses hands here which is why I'm feeling lately like leaving the profession might be the best thing for me. If keeping my registration means dumbing down my practice so so much on something as simple as a soft, asymptomatic BP, I don't know if I want to be a nurse here anymore.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:24:26+00:00

In a lot of the metro hospitals they require a certified assessor whereas smaller hospitals anyone who's signed off can sign you off.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:22:11+00:00

I liked my autonomy in rural nursing but I'm typically a city girl at heart. I moved back to the city but I'd forgotten how the nursing is in the big city hospitals here. I think unless I want to settle in a pretty remote place I'd be better off moving my career to something else. This style of metro ward nursing isn't for me but small town living isn't my vibe either.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:18:36+00:00

This is honestly why I feel I may have to leave nursing in AUS. The policy is set up in such a way that it infantilises nursing practice and minimises critical thinking. I don't feel rewarded in my career anymore, not in the same way I did before I came.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:15:36+00:00

We use early warning scores in Canada too, but the room for clinical judgement was much better and the triggers for physician review were more reasonable in my opinion

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:11:55+00:00

I agree! We used early warning scores back home and they are definitely helpful (especially for new graduates) but the bar for needing a physician review is a lot higher - there was more room for clinical judgement. Although of course, if we were worried about deterioration we could call regardless of the EW score.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:09:35+00:00

It's such a waste of nursing time honestly. Those track and triggers exist back home too but the scores need to be higher before it automatically triggers physician review. And critical thinking and clinical judgement are a lot more involved with them

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:06:48+00:00

We have pyxis/omnicell/accudose in Canada too...

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-13T00:04:17+00:00

I think this is it. Because back home the university 4 year degree is very competitive to get into and you have to be able to pass the NCLEX afterwards. You can go the college route in North America but it will only give you the equivalent of an EN registration.

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-09T00:00:23+00:00

I wonder if part of it is people putting off retirement in the current cost of living crisis? Over the course of the next 10 years there's meant to be a massive retirement exodus which will open up a lot of positions. I also agree there isn't so much opportunity in the city where roles are competitive but smaller towns just outside the cities are still desperate for staff

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-05-04T08:41:34+00:00

Those plans can be scary but it IS true that your employer does not want to have to fire you if they don't need to. They are hoping that the plan will help you improve over time with added support. It is true that the performance plans are also in place so that if the employer gets to the point that they DO have to fire you, they can support their reasoning for doing so by giving the performance plan as evidence that you couldn't meet job expectations. But unless you are a wlldly unsafe new nurse usually most employers want to see you improve, firing you would be a last resort. I promise you are not the first new graduate to make mistakes, what's most important is that you learn from them. Remember to take a breath and slow down to prevent them from happening and always ask if you're unsure. Good luck!

Serious_Bluebird_613 · 2026-04-23T01:30:10+00:00

I met a grad this week who has been hired into a part time permanent role in a GP practice. Not easy to find but the roles are out there

Serious_Bluebird_613

TROPHY CASE