CARACTERISTICAS GEOLOGICAS ESTRUCTURALES

The survey (weblink) was sent to 19 students who graduated from the Practical Nursing Program. A total of 13 students (68%) participated in the survey.

The respondents range in age from 26 to 52 years and the average age is 36. All 12 respondents who reported their gender are female.

Of the 12 respondents who reported their place of residence, 11 are from Huron County and one is from Perth County.

Of the 12 respondents who reported their highest level of education, eight (67%) have graduated from college, one has completed some university courses, one has graduated from university, one has completed some college courses, and one has graduated from high school.

What attracted you to take the Practical Nursing Program?

An open ended question was used to ask respondents what attracted them to take the Practical Nursing program. The key themes that emerged included the following:

• The program was offered locally and was part-time which made it very convenient. • Funding was available to help cover the cost of the program.

• Participants wanted to upgrade their skills to access more career opportunities.

In a follow-up question, the respondents were asked to identify what attracted them to take the Practical Nursing program from a set list of five factors. The following figure shows the

responses in rank order.

Key Attractions in Taking the Practical Nursing Program (n=13)

100% 85% 85% 62% 54% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% I wanted to upgrade my skills and get a nursing diploma

HealthKick was able to pay for part of my

tuition

The training was offered locally (Huron

East Health Centre, Seaforth)

I was interested in working in the

industry

There is a need for practical nurses in

my area

Job Search Techniques Used to Try and Find Work Related to Practical Nurse Training

Job Search Technique % #

Looked for job postings on hospital/health care agency websites 55% 6

Searched job classifieds in newspapers 36% 4

Employers came to you 36% 4

Word of mouth 36% 4

Looked for jobs through my school network (college, university, etc.) 27% 3 Looked for jobs / information posted on thehealthline.ca website 27% 3 Looked for jobs / information posted on the HealthKick website 27% 3 Looked for jobs using Internet job search engines (Workopolis, Monster.ca, etc.) 18% 2

Volunteered to gain work experience 18% 2

Respondents were allowed to select/provide more than one response (n=11).

Challenges Finding Work Related to Practical Nurse Training

Challenges Experienced % #

I wanted a full time position 62% 8

None, I didn’t experience any challenges looking for a job related to my training 31% 4

I needed additional qualifications 23% 3

I wanted a job that was closer to where I live 15% 2

I wanted a part time position 15% 2

Employers wanted people with more job experience than I have 8% 1 Respondents were allowed to select/provide more than one response (n=13).

One respondent reported that they had to prove to the employer that they needed to make a new position as they did not have enough RPNs. The respondent was successful in this endeavour.

Current Employment Status

Five of the 13 respondents are currently employed in permanent full-time positions and all five of the positions relate to the training they received in the Practical Nurse program. The five

positions are in a variety of settings including a long term care facility, a retirement home, a public health unit, and community care agencies. Four of the positions are in Huron and one is in Perth.

Eight of the 13 respondents are currently employed in permanent part-time positions and all eight of the positions relate to the training they received in the Practical Nurse program. The eight positions are in a variety of settings including hospitals, long term care facilities, a

retirement home, and a community care agency. Seven of the positions are in Huron and one is in Perth.

At least five of the respondents have a second part-time job all of which are permanent positions and relate to the training they received in the Practical Nurse program. The five positions are in a variety of settings including long term care facilities, a hospital, a community care agency, and a family health team. All five of the positions are in Huron.

Volunteer Experience in a Position Related to Practical Nurse Training

Five of the 13 respondents reported that they had volunteered in a position where they used the training they received in the Practical Nurse program. Two of the positions lasted less than three

months in duration and two positions were 3months to 6 months in duration while one position lasted for more than a year. Two of the positions involved less than an hour of volunteer time per week while two of the positions involved 1-2 hours per week and one position involved 3-4 hours per week. All five of the volunteer positions are in Huron of which two are in a hospital, two are in a long term care facility and one is with a community care agency.

Importance of Working in Huron Perth Bruce Grey

Respondents were asked to rate how important it is for them to work in the healthcare sector in the Huron, Perth, Bruce, and Grey area. A ten point scale was used to assess the level of importance as follows: 1 = not important; 2 to 4 = slightly important; 5 to 7 = fairly important; 8 to 9 = quite important; 10 = very important.

Of the 12 respondents that reported on Huron, nine indicated that it is very important for them to work in Huron while five respondents reported that it is quite important and one reported that it is fairly important.

Of the 10 respondents that reported on Perth, one respondent indicated that it is very important for them to work in Perth while one respondent reported that it is quite important and one reported that it is fairly important. Three of the respondents reported that it is slightly important and four of the respondents indicated that it is not important for them to work in Perth.

Of the 10 respondents that reported on Bruce, three of the respondents indicated that it is slightly important for them to work in Bruce while seven reported that it is not important to work in Bruce.

Of the 10 respondents that reported on Grey, three of the respondents indicated that it is slightly important for them to work in Grey while seven reported that it is not important to work in Grey.

Importance of Working in the Area

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Huron County (n=12) Perth County (n=10) Bruce County (n=10) Grey County (n=10)

Very Important Quite Important Fairly Important Slightly Important Not Important

Advice for Looking for Work in the Healthcare Sector in Huron, Perth, Bruce, Grey Area Respondents were asked to provide advice for others who are looking for employment in the healthcare sector in the Huron, Perth, Bruce, Grey area.

Many of the respondents noted that that are job opportunities available – but it can require a great deal of searching and it may require starting in a casual position and working up to a part- time or full-time position. Many of the respondents also noted the importance of continuing education and upgrading your skills and volunteering was also mentioned as a way to gain relevant experience.

9.5 Food Service Worker Program – Survey of Graduates