• Français
  • Contact us
  1. Home  
  2. Information and services  
  3. Employment  
  4. Learning About a Trade or an Occupation  
  5. Exploring Trades and Occupations  
  6. Nurses

Exploring Trades and Occupations

Nurses

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2024-2028
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

In addition to caring for patients, these individuals provide education programs and health care consultations. This group includes those who are in the process of obtaining their licence. They are self-employed, work in their own homes, or in:

  • Hospitals
  • Health care or extended care facilities
  • Rehabilitation centres
  • Clinics
  • Medical offices
  • Pharmacies
  • Community organizations
  • Call centres
  • Businesses
  • School environments

Environment

  • Controlled ambient temperature
  • Hazardous chemical
  • Biological agents
  • Odours
  • Hazardous workplaces
  • Violence

Main tasks

Nurses

  • Plan and evaluate the care to be given.
  • Assess the physical and mental condition of patients.
  • Educate patients and their families about health issues.
  • Collaborate with interdisciplinary health care teams.
  • Administer prescribed medications and treatments.
  • Adjust the nursing therapeutic plan.
  • Monitor, assess, document, and record symptoms and changes in patients’ conditions.
  • Assist physicians with surgical procedures and medical procedures.
  • May supervise other staff members.
  • Carry out the referral process.

Occupational Health Nurses

  • Develop health education programs for staff.
  • Provide nursing care in private companies and industries.

Community Health Nurses

  • Provide nursing care and health information in homes and health care facilities.
  • Participate in community needs assessments and program development.
  • Screen for diseases and administer vaccines.

Psychiatric Nurses

  • Provide nursing care in mental health settings.
  • Provide counselling services to patients.

Nursing Consultants

  • Provide consultation services related to the nursing profession and nursing science.

Nursing Researchers

  • Conduct research in nursing science.

Clinical Nurses

  • Assess the health status of patients.
  • Ensure the realization of the nursing care and treatment plan for individuals with complex health problems.
  • Provide care and treatment.

Advancement and mobility

  • A degree in Administrative Management may give access to management positions.
  • Experience and training can lead to supervisory or management positions.

Hourly wage

The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.
Minimum
$26.58
Median
$40.00
Maximum
$50.00

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Very good

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2023

All of Québec

68,000

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
88.3% Female
11.7% Male

Not available.
  • 88.3% Female
  • 11.7% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2020

All of Québec

$86,000

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for men
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    94% of jobs
  2. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  3. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    1% of jobs
  4. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    1% of jobs
  5. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    2% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    94% of jobs
  2. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  3. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    1% of jobs
  4. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    1% of jobs
  5. Social Assistance
    NAICS 624
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    2% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Most training programs are offered in French only.

College

ACS in intégration à la profession infirmière du Québec
Code : CWA0B
DCS in nursing
Code : 180A0

Placement rate: 43.1%

53.4% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
DCS in nursing
Code : 180B0

Placement rate: 72.7%

26.4% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation

University

Community health, occupational health or epidemiology
Bachelor’s degree

Placement rate: 85.7%

8.6% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
Master’s degree

Placement rate: 81.3%

13.3% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
  • Université de Montréal
  • Université de Sherbrooke
  • Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
  • Université Laval
  • McGill University
Nursing
Bachelor’s degree

Placement rate: 90.6%

5.8% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
Master’s degree

Placement rate: 88.9%

7.2% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
This discipline is taught in the following institutions:
  • Université de Montréal
  • Université de Sherbrooke
  • Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
  • Université du Québec en Outaouais
  • Université du Québec à Rimouski
  • Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
  • Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
  • Université Laval
  • McGill University

Also required

  • Membership in the Ordre professionnel des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ [Quebec Order of Nurses]).

Sometimes required

  • Bachelor’s degree usually required for clinical nurse positions.
  • A Class 5 driver’s licence and a vehicle may be required for those providing home care.

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Active listening
  • Social perception
  • Oral expression
  • Service oriented
  • Reading comprehension
  • Coordination
  • Critical thought
  • Information processing
  • Result evaluation
  • Judgment and decision-making
  • Written expression
  • Active learning
  • Solving complex problems
  • Teaching
  • Learning strategies
  • Time management
  • Persuasion
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Oral comprehension
  • Verbal skills
  • Awareness of issues
  • Written comprehension
  • Deductive reasoning
  • Inductive reasoning
  • Speech clarity
  • Speech recognition
  • Written expression
  • Information organization
  • Near vision
  • Classification
  • Core strength
  • Selective attention
  • Perception speed
  • Processing flexibility
  • Distance vision
  • Digital dexterity
  • Manual dexterity
  • Endurance
  • Idea generation
  • Memorization
  • Time sharing
  • Hand-arm stability
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Sense of responsibility
  • Capacity to adapt
  • Knowledge of customer and personalized services
  • Capacity to work in a team
  • Sense of initiative
  • Tolerance to stress
  • Commitment to quality
  • Availability
  • Knowledge of medicine or dentistry
  • Knowledge of psychology

Interests

  • Draft, communicate, and inform
  • Carry out research
  • Assist and advise
  • Teach or educate
  • Assist or care for people

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Social
People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Investigative
People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
Artistic
People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
Additional information

Official name of the NOC 31301

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses

Job titles

  • Hospital nurse
  • Clinic nurse
  • Clinical nurse
  • Home care nurse
  • Triage nurse
  • Nursing researcher
  • Infection control officer
  • Nursing adviser
  • Infection control coordinator - hospital
  • Nursing evaluator
  • Hospital hygienist - nursing
  • Clinical nurse specialist
  • Nurse
  • Registered nurse - call centre
  • Registered nurse - public and community health
  • Registered industrial nurse
  • Registered nurse - independent practice
  • Registered community health nurse
  • Registered public health nurse
  • Registered nurse - telehealth
  • Graduate nurse
  • Graduate nurse - physician's office
  • Graduate nurse - occupational health
  • Graduate private duty nurse
  • Nurse researcher
  • Outreach nurse
  • Casual duty nurse
  • Registered psychiatric nurse (r.p.n.)
  • School nurse
  • Respiratory nurse specialist
  • Nurse technician
  • Cardiology nurse technician
  • Visiting nurse
  • Consultant nurse
  • Occupational health nurse consultant
  • Public health nurse consultant
  • Nurse counsellor
  • Liaison nurse
  • Float nurse
  • Industrial nurse
  • Ward nurse
  • Coronary unit nurse
  • Intensive care unit (icu) nurse
  • Emergency nurse
  • Doctor's office nurse
  • Youth centre nurse
  • Birthing room nurse
  • Bedside nurse
  • Out-patient clinic nurse
  • Victoria order nurse
  • Red cross nurse
  • Operating room (or) nurse
  • Recovery room nurse
  • Ambulatory care nurse
  • Primary care nurse
  • Cardiology nurse
  • Cardiac surgery nurse
  • Dialysis nurse
  • Geriatric nurse
  • Gerontology nurse
  • Hemodialysis nurse
  • Hospital hygiene nurse
  • Occupational medicine nurse
  • Nephrology nurse
  • Nephrology and kidney transplantation nurse
  • Obstetrics nurse
  • Oncology nurse
  • Pediatric nurse
  • Perinatal care nurse
  • First aid nurse
  • Contagious disease transmission prevention nurse
  • Infection control nurse
  • Psychiatric nurse
  • Outpost nurse
  • Community health nurse
  • Occupational health nurse
  • Mental health nurse
  • Public health nurse
  • Public and community health nurse
  • School health nurse
  • Neuroscience nurse
  • Circulating nurse
  • General duty nurse
  • Scrub nurse
  • Burn patient care nurse
  • Critical care nurse
  • Emergency care nurse
  • General duty nurse - psychiatry
  • Geriatric care nurse
  • Primary nurse
  • Intensive care nurse
  • Surgical intensive care nurse
  • Coronary intensive care nurse
  • Medical intensive care nurse
  • Pediatric intensive care nurse
  • Home care neuroscience nurse
  • Palliative care nurse
  • Foot care nurse
  • Private care nurse
  • Psychiatric and mental health nurse
  • Respiratory care nurse
  • Infection surveillance nurse
  • On-call nurse
  • Nursing technician
More Less job titles

Skill type

Health

Related occupations

  • Licensed practical nurses
  • Managers in health care
  • Nurse practitioners
  • Nursing coordinators and supervisors

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi

Last update: January 29, 2026

Page evaluation
Form submission successful Your feedback has been submitted. Thank you for helping us make Québec.ca better.

Was the information on this page helpful?

Please complete the reCAPTCHA verification.

Was the information on this page helpful?

Report a problem
Form submission successful Your feedback has been submitted. Thank you for helping us make Québec.ca better.
Fields marked with * are required

Why was this information unhelpful? *

You must select an option

What issue are you experiencing? *

You must select an option

Why was the information useful?

Please describe the problem
Gouvernement du Québec

Footer navigation | Québec.ca

Information and services

  • Agriculture, environment and natural resources
  • Culture
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Businesses
  • Family and support for individuals
  • Finance, income and other taxes
  • Housing and Territory
  • Immigration
  • Justice and civil status
  • Health
  • Public safety and Emergencies
  • Tourism and recreation
  • Transports

Government

  • Departments and agencies
  • Services Québec
  • Work in government
  • Information feed
  • Laws and regulations
  • Copyright and request for authorization

How to reach us

  • General information
  • Service offices

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
    • Accessibility
    • Sitemap
    • Access to information
    • Privacy policy
    • Who can consult this page