From engineer to ER nurse
Name: Jiangjin Song
Occupation: ER nurse at Langley Hospital
Union: BCNU
From northeastern China where he says the climate is very similar to Toronto, Jiangjin Song came to Canada 10 years ago after working as an electrical engineer for a decade.
When he first arrived he couldn’t get a job since his work experience was not recognized here. After working odd jobs for almost two years, he longed for a brighter future and better worklife. He achieved both when he became a nurse and a member of the BC Nurses’ Union.
“BCNU has a lot of information I was able to access regarding our contract, benefits. If you have a problem, you just have to call your union and they will help you. I think it’s great that my union protects our benefits and rights,” says Song about the BCNU.
Song’s explains he chose nursing when “my brother-in-law who is a doctor in the US suggested that I should consider nursing as a career since nurses are in such high demand. Especially in Canada where the population is getting older, there is the need for healthcare professionals”.
Thus he decided to apply to several nursing programs and was accepted at McMaster University in 2004.
Song remembers “at first it was challenging learning about physiology, latin terminology and so on, it was very different from what I had studied before but I ended up graduating on the Honour Roll!”
He received his degree in 2008 and began working at Sunnybrook Hospital in Ontario, among the nation’s largest trauma centres.
For two years he worked as a float nurse with varying assignments, providing him the opportunity to work with different units and develop a wide spectrum of skills while getting to learn about broad spectrum of nursing specialties he could pursue. “It was stressful but I learned a lot,” he says.
After two years in Ontario, Song was lured by BC’s balmier weather, applying for and securing a permanent position as a full-time ER nurse at Langley Hospital. “I saw a lot of worst-case scenarios in the ER when I started nursing in Toronto, so I like the pace here, the cases are usually not as severe,” says Song.
“I love ER nursing and we have a great team that works well together in the ER, so I really enjoy working here. I am passionate about caring for my patients, I am proud to be a nurse!”