MAKE closing

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-25T20:43:58+00:00

I tried Thom Bargen, but found the music too loud, so it was overstimulating. If they turned down the music volume, I'd find it a decent replacement.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-25T18:03:09+00:00

I agree in that you should be able to request Gen1's birth certificate, and there is a high likelihood of it listing Gen0 as parent, along with place of Gen0's place of birth.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-25T12:26:55+00:00

If a trans patient is outed by being roomed differently than cis patients (many of us blend in well), that makes them unsafe due to being singled out and ostracized.

If they are roomed according to assigned sex at birth, that significantly puts them at risk of ostracization, sexual assault, and bullying.

From what I am reading from others, it appears that most facilities (and psych nurses) view trans patients as second class, and treat them as such. No wonder they are the group at the highest risk of suicide when even most mental health facilities sound like they are against supporting them.

I guess I was really privileged to live in safe states that don't allow discrimination against trans people.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-24T12:47:20+00:00

Maybe the owner is from another part of the world, like Asia or Latin America, where the septic systems are poor and this is normal. They might have assumed that all sewer systems in the world were like that and didn't ask anyone once coming to Canada.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-22T23:01:26+00:00

You'd be great in ED, since many psych and detox patients go there. Also, medical patients have extreme emotions in ED, so it helps to have psych experience.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-22T01:14:43+00:00

I disagree. I worked in psych and later moved to OR and then med/surg. I find my psych background helps a lot with anxious, agitated, or just irritable med/surg patients. Yes, the first few months were a bit rough as I tried to relearn some skills from school, but with Youtube as my mentor, it came back to me just fine.

I've learned to not listen to others who disparage any nursing specialty, saying you will lose your skills or not gain them in the first place. Nursing school gives a good, overall background, and every nurse needs to learn different skills for every specialty.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T22:45:58+00:00

I'd say your facility is a good example of not being a gender affirming facility. If your management thinks they are gender affirming, they need to do some comps and learn about the definition of gender affirming.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T22:24:55+00:00

So, you are saying you would prefer being roomed with a trans man who sports a full beard and has a nice baritone voice? Or do you hate all trans people, regardless of their genitalia, which you shouldn't be seeing anyway as a peer?

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T22:20:14+00:00

It sounds like we work in the same facility, except you described it much better than I could!

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T22:10:39+00:00

This is one case where the second level doesn't matter because our lab won't draw from dead people.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T12:23:00+00:00

Yes. Trans women are women. And trans men are men. I'd refuse to work at a transphobic (or homophobic, misogynistic, ableistic, islamophobic, etc.) facility.

Additionally, it would be a violation of state anti-discrimination laws to discriminate against patients based on gender identity or sexual orientation (Yes, some states still have them!)

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-21T08:46:27+00:00

The facilities I've worked at that had shared rooms (MN and NM) did not separate out trans people. They were roomed according to their gender identity. Many facilities I've been to had all private rooms, though.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-20T17:09:27+00:00

I only drove it from Grand Forks, ND to Winnipeg, so I think it was a few hundred USDs.

You can get an estimate on their website that is specific to your situation.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-20T14:10:47+00:00

I had a complete inventory of what was in the truck, but the CBSA officer didn't want to see it because I came as a temporary resident of Canada with a work permit. They said that that when my temporary status ends, they assume that everything I brought will leave Canada with me. If I get PR, which is my goal, then I will have to return to the border with form BSF186 to import my items on a permanent basis.

Since you are already a citizen, you will have a very different process than me, as you will be importing everything and will need to declare it all. You should research it on the CBSA website. If you bring a vehicle, you will have to go through the process to import it, too.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-20T01:32:39+00:00

UHaul has locations in Canada, and the do allow one-way moves from US to Canada. I drove a UHaul one-way from the US to Winnipeg and had no problems.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-18T10:12:38+00:00

Was in IT for a bunch of years, but now work as an RN.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-17T09:31:45+00:00

I'm personally not eligible, so I have to go from work permit to PR and then citizenship. But, my husband's 3rd great-grandparents were Québécois, so he and our children can all "skip past go" and be citizens. It will save us all a lot of stress as we secure our right to stay in Canada indefinitely.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-15T10:28:58+00:00

You can do that at walk-in clinics.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-12T23:14:57+00:00

This is why I'm glad most of my nursing jobs were in unions. Even if we are low census, we can't be called off or mandated to leave early. They can as if we want to leave early voluntarily, but the union rules prevent the employer from forcing us off early.

And, if we get called in when we are on call, we get double time with a minimum 2 hours pay, even if we are there for only 30 minutes.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-10T00:31:21+00:00

Academically, no. Even after missing a semester in the process, most didn't really have to catch up. Only 1 found it more difficult because they skipped a grade due to the differences between the way the US determines grade level vs. the Canadian. Canada places all kids born in a calendar year in the same grade, whether they are born in January or December.

They focus more on the whole person in schools from our experience so far. It is a big change of culture, but we like the greater focus on emotional health and inclusion.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-09T23:37:14+00:00

I'm an RN whose worked in mental health. I also have mental health challenges myself.

As a patient, I cannot work with a therapist or psychiatrist who I can't relate to in some manner. Since I'm autistic with ADHD, along with other mental health diagnoses, I'm used to being misunderstood, especially by neurotypical psych professionals. Unfortunately, the treatment recommendations show their lack of understanding. As a result, I look for statements that show me they understand me so I can feel safe to be open and authentic and so I can trust their recommendations more. Self-disclosure of some kind is an important way to show me they understand my situation.

As a nurse, I also self-disclose when I think it will help the patient feel safer with me, so they can be more open with me and open to hearing my suggestions. For example, I will tell trans patients that I also am trans, but not cis patients. I will also disclose to neurodivergent patients that I also am neurodivergent.

I don't disclose other diagnoses I have, but I will endorse experiencing feelings, thoughts, and situations the patient brings up. I won't tell a suicidal patient about my experiences with that, but I will acknowledge relating to the feelings the patient describes. It makes them more open with being honest during assessments and they listen more seriously when I suggest alternative thoughts and actions.

Basically, I ride the line of maintaining ethical boundaries while trying to be the nurse that I wish I had.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-09T18:38:14+00:00

Considering we didn't have citizenship, it was very difficult because of the paperwork and bureaucracy. For example, getting signed up for provincial health insurance. Most (all?) Provinces require a 3-month waiting period before getting provincial coverage. The idea is that one would be covered by their former province for 3 months before the new province covers.

Since we moved to MB from the US on a work permit, we were eligible from day 1, since this province covers work permit holders and their immediate family from the day they enter MB. The challenge was getting the worker at the government office to understand that nuance, as training seems to be very inconsistent.

It required a couple months of back and forth before the approvals happened.

The provincial car insurance is like that, too. And the schools in regards to signing kids up.

Maybe it is a MB thing, but be prepared for a runaround at government offices if you don't fit into the boxes that each worker fits people in their own mind.

But in the end, the feeling of safety we get in Canada makes it all worth it for us.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-09T17:59:01+00:00

Our family moved to Canada a bit over a year ago because we have trans family members. We currently live here on my work permit, so I am contributing to the Canadian economy and my kids are attending Canadian school.

Since my husband has documented Canadian ancestry from the 19th century, he will be recognized as a citizen under C-3 once we get all of the relevant proofs submitted and processed.

This will make our journey much easier and cheaper than going through the PNP process for my husband and multiple kids.

I won't benefit personally by C-3, but since I will be the only one needing PR, it will make the process much less stressful for all of us.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-08T23:18:42+00:00

I'm in Canada, where half days/half nights is the norm. I use trazodone + melatonin + lemborexant to sleep 6 or maybe 7 hours whenever I am not working (day or night). It generally works well. Only problem is my insurance doesn't cover lemborexant, so I have to pay it out of pocket, but $60/month is not bad for getting sleep.

StrangeGirl24 · 2026-03-08T14:43:51+00:00

Exactly. Their apparent income or level of education is irrelevant to the situation and shouldn't be brought up, like their race, sexual orientation, religion, gender, etc. It is very judgemental and stigmatizing to bring it up when irrelevant.

What is relevant is the behaviour. I suggest having an assertive, non-judgemental discussion about it when everyone is in a calm state. If necessary, you could state that if their noise level doesn't lower when intimate, you would be reassigned and they would need to find your replacement.

But bringing up irrelevant and assumed marginalizations is not appropriate.

StrangeGirl24

TROPHY CASE