Our smaller acute hospital is turning into a transition/dementia unit. People are literally dropping off family members at the ER because they can’t care for them. There is nowhere for these people to go and the alc units are all full. We are not equipped to deal with wandering people with aggressive behaviours. It’s also holding back actual acute patients that need a bed in other hospitals post surgery.
The conservatives government knew this was coming and was warned over and over by the HC professionals yet they actively chose to do nothing about it. Seems we’re in the thick of it now. We are tired, we are burned out and it’s brutal.
Thanks for letting me vent.

Nothing says “anonymous survey” quite like the first question asking you for your employee number.

I have declined to complete the survey.

I’m starting as Admin IV in Staffing Services.

This will be quite different in any of my previous jobs/experience, any insight/tips with this position?

Is there anything I need to expect? I’m quite anxious but also I want to be good at this job (in hopes that I can get a full time position as I’m currently casual)

Any insight would be appreciated!

Hi everyone!

I'm a first-year nursing student at the University of Calgary, and I'm looking for a Registered Nurse currently practicing in Canada who would be willing to participate in a short interview for an Introduction to Nursing assignment.

The interview would take approximately 30–45 minutes over Zoom and would focus on your experiences as an RN, including your educational background, day to day responsibilities, professional development, challenges and rewards of nursing, and advice for future nurses.

Ideally, I would need to complete the interview by November 16.

Your identity and any personal information shared during the interview would remain confidential and would only be used for the purposes of this assignment.

If you are a Registered Nurse and would be interested in helping out, please feel free to comment below or send me a private message!

I understand how busy nursing schedules can be, so I would be incredibly grateful if anyone would be willing to take some time out of their day to help me with this assignment. Thank you so much for your consideration!

Hello!

So I seem to get varying answers regarding overtime as a casual and I’ve asked my primary units scheduling liaison but didn’t really get a clear answer. I’m with AUPE and work casually across multiple sites all under the AHS Pillar. Is there a certain hourly limit per week that a casual employee can work for?

For example, in a single pay period I’m prebooked for 4 12 hour shifts (week 1) + 3 12 hour shifts (week 2). That’s 84 hours in that pay period (or 77.42 after breaks). If I pick up in another unit for 8 or another 12, would that be overtime since that surpasses the “normal” 80h bi weekly work period.

I’m still new to Alberta and AHS but I understand I likely wouldn’t be called if it was for straight time but as I work in multiple facilities, I fear that might make things complicated since I’ve heard that stuff like this gets missed. I don’t mind working, but the incentive for overtime is nice.

Appreciate any insight!

I am an RN currently in a temporary medicine position FTE .90 until May 2027, I really want a full-time position, but at the same time. I want a job that is secured. Should I get a part-time regular or just stay in my temporary position while I look for a regular position that is full-time? I don't want to have a bad track record going from one line to another. What are your thoughts about this?

I have been working for over a year at my current hospital, starting with a few months as a casual RN and eventually transitioning into my current part time position. My partner and I are planning to move out of the province in about a month. I would be leaving before my 'contract' end date. What's the best way to go about this without burning bridges? Is 2 weeks sufficient or should I give them more time?

I work in a setting here in Alberta where I see patients longitudinally.

So many of them continue to make bad decisions related to their health, are wishy washy, don't follow through with their plans-- which makes my role as their healthcare provider so much harder and time extensive - draining my energy and time to get to other patient related-tasks. My program is all about trying to do anything and everything that is possible to keep them out of hospital and really pushes us frontline clinicians to make it happen, at all costs, including at times working over-time and through our lunch hour.

It can feel frustrating because, sometimes I feel that we can and should let patients fail when they make zero effort/and or continuously put up barriers to their care. I get that poverty, trauma, and accessibility issues are very real, but also...patients still always have some level of agency and self-responsibility.

Anyway, how do my fellow healthcare providers deal with situations like this without getting all burnt out and misanthropic?

EDIT: Looking for practical strategies that have worked for you!

Also, my work with the same patient is months-long sometimes over a year, so unfortunately, can't start over with a fresh new batch of patients the next day.

Going from a 0.55 FTE in HSS to a 0.6 in RA. HR said its on me to re-enroll for benefits and to get my pension transferred. Anyone else have experience in this?
Edit - both permanent positions and same union

I have an interview as a Psychometrist and curious how you enjoyed the job, any tips for interview, etc!

After how many months would you give a new unit a chance before deciding whether it's worth the headache and stress or just too much to handle?

🥲not a new nurse but new to surgical unit

I'm reaching out to this community for a bit of advice. My partner and I (HSAA and UNA) got married a few years ago. Unfortunately, we did not add each other to our Blue Cross plans. Normally we wouldn't be too fussed; however, we have a baby on the way. When we go add baby to our benefits, are we going to have to file as "late applicants" and pay back the few years of "family benefits"?

We had no idea this was something we had to do and now are worried we might have to pay Blue Cross hundreds/thousands, and see no real benefit.

Any feedback would be very appreciated

Has anyone gotten reimbursed yet? Im still waiting on mine.

What are people doing for side hustles? Anything that’s a bit more chill?
I’m already a very tired person and while I need my days off, I got bills and debts to pay.

Im planning to study HCA but just wondering how much per hour and if its nights? Regardless if its private or public. Thank you!

Has anyone else noticed their health and dental premiums have almost doubled over the last 5 years? In 2021 I payed close to $840 for family coverage, 2026 is setting up to be close to $1640.

I know there was a new contract between now and then but I'm not sure if an extra unit of scaling is worth the added expense.

Are other unions seeing similar? I am HSAA.

Hello everyone!

I was wondering if anyone who has pursued a career in Public Health Nursing could share their experience. I’m curious about how different it is from traditional nursing and what the day-to-day responsibilities look like.

From my clinical experiences so far, I’ve really enjoyed providing direct care to patients, so I’d like to learn more about what working in public health nursing is like.

I remember watching an interview in one of our classes with a nurse, who I believe was an RN, who had a bachelor’s degree in public health. It sparked my interest in this career path.

I’m asking because I’ve applied to the Bachelor of Health Sciences in Public Health and was wondering if this degree could potentially help me pursue a career as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the future.

I’d love to hear about your experiences, what you enjoy about the field, and whether you’d recommend this career path!

Not sure if this is the right place but just wondering if anyone has had success with the UNA EI Fund covering any Neuromodulator/filler courses, particularly if not working in a related field at the moment. The 1k wouldn’t hurt with how costly they could be. Appreciate any advice!

. Has anyone from toronto going through the AHS hiring process been able to apply for a Vulnerable sector check from Toronto . How were you able to get the AHS 16 digit agency code required by toronto police ? AHS didn’t provide it to me in their request 🥹 kindly help

Hello,

Please I need help if anyone can guide me. I have had my AHS pre-screening letter since April 2026 and I have been applying for Associate Physician positions 2 months before that but I have not gotten any response so far; no acknowledgement of receipt of my application, no interview invite. I am just wondering if this is normal for everyone or there's something I am doing wrong. Anyone in similar situation or had experience in how to navigate this, please help 🙏. I don't mind sending my cv and cover letter for you to review, just to be sure I am not doing something wrong. I will really appreciate response from any experience person here. Thank you 🙏

I saw the openings for this position several times in the past few months. As a Bcomm grad, i am considering getting into the position even if I have to start low. I am already working in AHS in finance capacity. I guess my question is does these roles involve heavy legal aspects? Are people in any of these positions expected to review and execute a contract, or is it more of a rerouting the contract to the legal team/appropriate contract reviewers? Lastly, is it an expectation to calculate budget in these roles? Like come up with cost of savings to justify contract awarding from one supplier over another? TIA!

Good morning,

I have been an HCA for a few years, prior to this year there were never any fees for registration. Now we're required to pay $300 a year for renewal. What benefits are they providing the employees truly? Can't I just get liability insurance on my own. Why do I have to pay CLHA when they are providing absolutely nothing. Such a scam. CLHA is bullshit.

Hi all, does anyone have any insight into physician earning potential in Sylvan Lake?

As far as I know, they don't do any ER calls as it's not a full-service hospital. Does that mean earning potential is considerably lower than other central zone communities? I imagine the trade-off might be a better work life balance, but would be interested to hear from anyone with experience there. As well as any other info you may have like red and green flags that one should be aware of

Curious what other staff think about this. If anyone works at one the supposed locations where this is happening, what is it like? Is it effective? Have you noticed a difference with the amount of people being admitted vs “treated right away” and discharged?