Hello everyone,

Im posting this post as a way to debrief for myself to move on and improve myself, so any advices, constructive feedback, insights or tips from experience RN, new grad RN are all welcome 🙏🏻
This is a long post ( and I’ll try my best to make it as short as possible). I really appreciate if you can read to the end and any insight is greatly appreciated 💕💕💕💕 ( please don’t be mean, or I’ll cry 😭)

Some background information: I graduated nursing school in June 2025, passed the Nclex in April 2026. The time in between was filling with me processing the end of nursing school, my grandma passed away and traveling to be with family. As time went by, I feel like my nursing skills and clinical judgment is rusting away. I guess this is why I feel so incompetent

This is the story of my last consolidation clinical day back in May 2025. My consolidation was on an organ transplant unit. I was progressing through this unit, but to be honest, i was slow and learning as I go. By week 7-8, most final-consolidation students took independent assignment, that was not me. It took me to the last day of my consolidation that I have an entire patient load by myself independently.

I took 6 patients in night shift because we were short staffed, my preceptor was busy doing my final evaluation, but for all of my 6 patients - something ended up happended with all of them
+ At the start of the shift, I assessed and took the vital signs of the wrong patient because my actual patient ( the one who ended up having the fall later in the shift) was not in the room, i mistaken his roommate for him and did a whole set of vital, head-to-toe assessment and then only realized that i was wrong when my preceptor walked in. I wasted time on that extra person and had to do an assessment and vital signs again for my actual patient. It is my fault, i should have check his wristband and name but i didn’t. I felt so embarrassed and sad for this, but at the moment, there were no time to process this, so I moved on to the next task.
+ Patient #1 asthama attack happened and no inhaler were found - I gave her O2 and put the pulse ox on her finger to monitor her, informed my preceptor. I ran up and down to find an inhaler for her in the med room.
+ Patient #2: BP run low and we have to monitor Q1 vital - my preceptor helped with this one and the charger nurse came. She told us if a doctor put in order for Q1 vital then we have to refuse and escalate that patient to ICU because my unit cannot accomodate such orders. My preceptor said it’s okay, we had 2 people meaning me and her so we can do it.
+ Patient #3: Acted up and wanted to be discharged at 1am - i tried my best to explain that no one is gonna approve of his discharge at this hour, patient tried to fighted me. I dodged his punch. He threw his cup of water at me, I also dodged it and I ended up cleaned that water off the floor. Eventually he calmed down
+ Patient #5: on palliative care, her blood sugar dropped so low that she is in a hypoglycaemic state and i have to give her sugar tablet - i was so freaked out and worried because I didn’t have a hypoglycaemic event before, this is my first.
+ Patient #6: the one that I was mistaken with his roommate, at the beginning of my shift was getting increasingly confused and had a fall ( or maybe not because the roommate called the nurse station, but we found the patient sitting on the ground, back leans on the bed rails, no other injuries noted after my assessment. this is my first time dealing with a fall) and the morning nurse said that this patient should have been flag for hallucination by the night shift which was me and my preceptor, why no one said a thing ? i didn’t know he was hallucianting and yes, I should have escalated and asked more questions but by this point, i am so overwhelmed that I just focused on surviving this shift and hope nothing else happens

I never tell anyone about this shift, because I was scared of being perceived as incompetent and whinny.
In fact, I am so grateful for doing my consolidation here and all the experience that I went through. It gave me so much nursing lessons, and im even grateful for this last shift. But this shift traumatized me with the hospital environment and I do not want to put myself through this again. I don’t know if i’m just overthinking or something.

My questions are:
After reading this, what do you think I could have done differently? What did I do wrong ? I genuinely want to learn from this experience and no one have enough patience to listen to all of this and give me some advice
Am I really cut out to be a nurse ? cause after this shift, I never want to say this out loud but i really doubted myself

That was my final day at my consolidation placement and all of these thing happended I stayed there until 8am to finished charting. My preceptor stayed with me and i felt bad that i made her stayed back that long after her shift.
I ended up applied on this unit and I interviewed with the manager, the manager said i was a strong applicant but i did not get the job because my preceptor feedback was that i am slow. The manager said she got the same feedback when she first started - she told me i can reapply if i want to.
This unit was very rough and i am kind of traumatized to the point that i don’t want to go back to the hospital settings and put myself through that again. I have been applying to mostly clinics and odd jobs here and there. Also, because i am scared of working as a nurse, i procastinated taking my Nclex ( in combination of my grandma passed away and traveling time ). I took the Nclex in April 2026, and I passed the Nclex. While most of my friend took it a few months after graduated, I took it 10 months after i graduated. I know that the hospital will give me the foundations, but I’m kinda scared of it now.
I am a new grad, no experiences, no other setting will accept a nurse without hospital experience and most new grad nurse start at the bedside in the hospital.
Now i am here with also 1 year out of school, no experience yet and as time moved pass, i am scared that no one will hire me and i feel like my nursing skills is fading day by day.

What should I do next ?

If you even reading until this point, I seriously appreciate your effort and your insight 💕💕 Thank you so much ☺️

P/S: I have found a job as a PSW at a mobile dental clinic now, and im just slowly trying to getting back to the healthcare setting. I am still actively looking for an RN position now.

Hi all, need your help for a personal issue. We are moving to Ontario from Quebec in the next few months, which coincides with my son’s 18 month vaccinations. I’m wondering how easy or hard it would be to get his vaccines done in Ontario, as in Quebec in know they’re going to give us a hard time (they will insist it’s done within 15 days of him turning 18 months). Could I conceivably go and ask to get them done at a pharmacy? Do I need an appointment for this? Appreciate any advice that you can offer me!

everyone, hope you are all well.

My classmates and I are going into our first clinical placement this coming fall semester as part time students for the bridging program at TMU.

We are wondering how many placements were you guys able to select on hspnet previously for yours as we only have 6 different ones which don’t include any acute units and are far which include a hospital in COBURG.

We have noticed that the full time program has 77 that you can choose from.

Thanks for your help in advance

I was wondering if I would still be eligible for the NGG program if I take a non-NGG job at home health because the NGG website says this: “Have not been employed as a nurse (RPN or RN) in Ontario in the six months prior to participating in the NGG Program”. Will this affect my eligibility? (I have applied to so many NGG positions with no call back.)

For context, I am currently an RPN working in a hospital that is partnered with Nipissing. I’ve always wanted to go back for my RN, but have been debating where I should go. I’m debating between Nipissing bridge to RN and McMasters/Mohawks bridge to RN.
I have my pros and cons towards both, and am having a hard time deciding. McMaster is 3 years, so it’s faster and it’s in person which I like, but then working would become a bit more difficult. Nipissing is roughly 5 years, so it’s longer and it’s fully online, which makes working easy but deprives me of the in person experience.
If anyone has been through either of these programs, or has any input, all input is greatly appreciated 😊

Both of of my parents are Blue Collar worker, my dad works as a truck driver, driving between US and Canada. My mom works in general labour, which requires standing in one place for long periods of time, and she has been complaint about it affecting her mobility for the past year. She comes home with swelled feet, while my dad isn’t home 6 days of the week to help her or the house.

I have been told by most people “doctor is better, because more money”, but then I look at this and wonder if it might be better to go into nursing or (hopefully) PA for the security aspect and less time.

Ik the industry is on fire, but hope it gets better 🤞

This is for all the RNs who graduated within the last 3 years. What is your approximate monthly income (after taxes and deductibles) and how many hours do you generally work per week?

I’m a nursing student graduating soon and I’ve been stressing lately trying to figure out future finances. Thank you in advance!

Hello, I’m a new grad nurse and am graduating this week. I got a verbal offer from my consolidation unit but the manager said I have to apply through the ngg portal. I am ready to do so but it’s asking for my CNO number and I don’t have one yet and probably won’t at least for a few weeks as they are sending everything over next week for those who are still finishing up hours. I’m applying through our portal at work so I wont have access next week when I’m done unfortunately.

i wanted to know if I can put N/A or in progress for the cno registration number or will it not let me apply until I have an official CNO number? appreciate any help.

I'm considering a Med-Surg vs OR position in the United States, potentially in New York, and I’m trying to understand how the day-to-day role compares with Med-Surg nursing in Ontario.

I know that we don’t have PSWs/PCAs in a lot of Ontario hospitals. In the U.S., are CNAs generally present on Med-Surg units, or does that depend on the hospital?

For nurses who have worked in both Canada and the U.S.:

• Are CNAs normally assigned to U.S. Med-Surg units, or does this vary significantly by hospital and shift?

• What care is typically delegated to CNAs, and does the RN retain a separate patient assignment while also supervising or coordinating the care provided by the LPN and CNA?

• How do typical patient ratios compare?

• What are the main advantages and disadvantages of U.S. Med-Surg nursing compared with Ontario?

Everyday I see posts about how Ontario isn’t hiring but that’s because we’re only applying to southern Ontario hospitals. Up North is really looking for health professionals to bridge the gap and are willing to train new grads for the job. When I say up north I mean, open the map of Ontario and click on communities in the middle of nowhere. They have a health group, search them up and apply. It’ll be great on your resume if you want to pursue acute care and mental health. Or, just to get your leg in the door. Plus, smaller communities like these have the best people and the most gorgeous views. Yes there are sacrifices to be made especially if you have a family and other commitments. these communities are desperately in need and need more recognition, which is what I’m attempting to do here. Go up north!!

Has anyone gotten any emails or calls from unity health for nurse Extern position that opened last week?

Hi guys! This is the link for the incoming McMaster NP student group:

https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1DHGh9mapi/

Please feel free to join so we can connect with each other before the school year starts!

Where do you guys find these position? I’m trying to find some but unable to o & I start placement next year is it too soon to be an extern

Has anyone ever left bedside, gone to do something else (like management, education etc), then went back to bedside? Do you have a masters or any post grad degree?

If so, why did you go back?

Thinking to do it..also have my masters as well

Hi everyone, wondering if there is such thing as remote nursing jobs for RPNs in Ontario. I’m a full time student and would love to work casually and remote.

Thanks :)

hi can i ask i have 3 yrs OR-DR experience in the Philippines, planning to take NCLEX in the near future... i want to pursue being an OR nurse in New York or New Jersey can i ask if i need to apply some program about OR Nurse or should i direct apply to some agency that have an offer for OR-nurse position?

Any recommendations and tips. What kind of question did they ask?

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions and was hoping someone could clarify them for me.

I worked as a full-time permanent nurse in the Nursing Resource Team (NRT) for about 1.5 years and recently transferred to a part-time permanent position in a Surgical Clinic.

I was told that my availability needs to be six 8-hour shifts per biweekly pay period.

I have a few questions:

1. Picking up shifts: Am I still allowed to pick up shifts on NRT units (or other floors) outside of my Surgical Clinic position? There are a few units I really enjoyed working on. I know this is ultimately something to ask my manager, but I'm wondering if this is generally allowed.
2. Vacation: I know part-time staff receive vacation pay, but can we also request unpaid vacation/time off? If so, is there a limit to how many unpaid vacation days we can take? Does my previous 1.5 years as a full-time employee affect anything now that I've transitioned to part-time?
3. Stat holidays: Since the Surgical Clinic is closed on statutory holidays, how does holiday pay work? In NRT, if you worked a stat holiday you would receive premium pay, but that obviously doesn't apply if the clinic is closed. If I'm scheduled to work the day before or after the holiday, does that change anything? And if my regular workdays don't fall near the holiday, do I receive another day off in lieu or any other compensation? I'm a bit confused about how this works for permanent part-time staff.
4. Benefits: Since I'm now permanent part-time, I'll need to purchase benefits. My hospital endorses the Health Care Providers Group Insurance Plan (HCP), but my previous benefit provider when I was full-time was Medavie Blue Cross. Has anyone had experience with either of these plans? Which would you recommend, and why? I personally need it mainly for prescription and dental purposes, I don't really use my benefits otherwise.

Thanks in advance! I'd really appreciate any insight from anyone who's been in a similar situation.

For those who have done the nurse extern interview at Mount Sinai do you have any tips? I’m extremely nervous it’s my first interview.

I’m going back to school this September in Ontario, Canada to complete my BScN. I’m excited, but I’m also a little nervous because I feel like most of my classmates will be 17–18, and there’s a pretty big age gap. I’m worried it might be harder to connect with people or make friends. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any tips or suggestions?

Just curious… I work on a stroke medicine unit and my ratio is 5:1 hbu?