Job Title: Community Health Nurse
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Submitted on: 10-Jan-05
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Job Title |
Workplace
Survey |
| Community Health Nurse |
I supplied nursing services in remote coastal first nations bands on a
relief basis. Drake Medox is contracted to supply nurses when Health
Canada is short staffed. Each community has least 2 registered nurses at
all times - and if there aren't 2 nurses available - the single nurse is
flown out and redeployed to a different community - and the clinic in
the community with no nurse is closed until it can be properly staffed.
This policy, while unpopular with the communities and the nurses, is
supported by historical incidents. For most of these communities - the
only way to access and leave them is by plane, and in some cases by
boat. The workday for the nurses is 0830-1645, and the nurses take call
evenings,nights, and week ends. One day per week is scheduled for Dr's
visits. Coastal weather mitigated against regular physician visits due
to the fog.Sending out really ill or term pregnancies was equally
problematic and many a baby was born at the health stations.
A barge came to the island of Klemtu every 2 weeks to provision the band
store. That was the only store - and I often ran out of fruits and
vegetables in the first assignments. Subsequently, I took in my own food
in a very large green suitcase that weighed well over 100 pounds. I
dehydrated meat, fish, vegetables and fruit. I took up 25 Kg of powdered
milk, and frozen fruits as well.
The band population varied between 340 and 400 first nations people, and
on Klemtu which had a fish processing plant, and there were 20 to 30
transients working at the plant when it was operating. We were
responsible for their care as well.
It was a most edifying job - and demanded many after hours of study and
consults with who ever was the senior nurse.
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