An American nurse who wants to move his family to Terrace says despite the B.C. government’s recent announcement to streamline the application process, there is still a lot of red tape involved. Jennifer Palma reports.
By Simon Little & Jennifer Palma Global News Posted March 21
Pat and Andee are exactly the type of family the B.C. government is targeting to attract to the province.
He’s a registered nurse with years of hospital experience, she’s a bookkeeper. The South Carolina couple are increasingly nervous about the political climate in the U.S. and considering a move to Northern B.C. with the hope of building a better life for their family.
Global News has agreed not to use their last names, as the couple fears retribution and social media backlash in their community.
Pat loves kayaking and the outdoors, and Andee hates the city. The duo were thinking of potentially setting down roots in Terrace.
B.C. unveils plan to fast-track U.S. doctor and nurse hiring spree
But they say red tape and fears about the cost of living are giving them pause.
“It’s a number of different websites, a number of different organizations, trying to keep them all straight just for getting the basic nursing stuff reviewed and transferred over,” Patrick said.
“I’m kind of at the point where honestly I need somebody to help me navigate where to go, with some of the requirements requesting I supply everywhere I have worked before but also wanting how many hours I worked at every place … I have worked at 14 hospitals.”
Patrick said he’s also unclear about how much documentation about his education to include, with instructions seemingly asking him to include all his training for onboarding at those hospitals, along with hundreds of modules of continuing education.
“And then at the end of it they said I need to keep the application brief,” he said.
“I’m a little bit confused.”
The couple is also worried about whether they could even afford to live in B.C.
“It’s a huge concern. It’s a pay cut along with a drastic housing pay increase,” Andrea said.
“U.S. dollar-wise, our mortgage … is $1000 a month right now for three-bedroom, two-bath, backyard. And even at that a lot of times it feels like it is paycheque to paycheque.”
She said the estimates she’s been given for the cost of housing in B.C. — even in the north — are troubling.
It comes as British Columbia mounts an aggressive health-care worker recruitment campaign south of the border, hoping to lure similarly credentialled professionals to address the province’s doctor and nurse shortage.
“I am thrilled to hear a nurse from South Carolina is interested not just in moving to British Columbia but moving to Terrace, that’s just fantastic because northern communities, rural communities really are experiencing a shortage,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said.
“We are expediting the process for nurses as well as doctors coming up from the states.”
