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Exploring Trades and Occupations

Nurses

On this page

  • Job description
  • Advancement and mobility
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2021-2025
  • 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 2019 to 2021.
Minimum
$24.25
Median
$36.92
Maximum
$45.22

Job prospects for 2021-2025

sr.comparaison-region.titre

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 2021-2025

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 2020

All of Québec

71,000

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
89.2% Female
10.8% Male

Not available.
  • 89.2% Female
  • 10.8% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2015

All of Québec

$69,000

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. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    1% of jobs
  3. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  4. Educational Services
    NAICS 61
    1% of jobs
  5. Other Services (except Public Administration)
    NAICS 81
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    2% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Health Care
    NAICS 621, 622, 623
    94% of jobs
  2. Public Administration
    NAICS 91
    1% of jobs
  3. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  4. Educational Services
    NAICS 61
    1% of jobs
  5. Other Services (except Public Administration)
    NAICS 81
    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 This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : CWA0B
DCS in nursing This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 180A0

Placement rate: 42.1%

55.6% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
DCS in nursing This hyperlink will open in a new window.
Code : 180B0

Placement rate: 81.9%

17.1% 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 3012

Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses

Job titles

  • Clinical nurse
  • Nurse consultant
  • Registered nurse (r.n.)
  • Home care nurse
  • Clinical nurse specialist
  • Infection control officer - medical
  • Infection control officer - hospital
  • Nursing researcher
  • Nursing counsellor
  • Infection control co-ordinator - hospital
  • Nursing evaluator
  • Hospital hygienist - nursing
  • Tele-nurse
  • Registered nurse - telehealth
  • Registered nurse - contact centre
  • Registered nurse - public and community health
  • Registered industrial nurse
  • Registered nurse - independent practice
  • Registered community health nurse
  • Registered public health nurse
  • Graduate nurse
  • Graduate nurse - physician's office
  • Graduate nurse - occupational health
  • Graduate private duty nurse
  • Nurse researcher
  • Clinic nurse
  • Outreach nurse
  • Casual duty nurse
  • Registered psychiatric nurse (r.p.n.)
  • School nurse
  • Respiratory nurse specialist
  • Nurse technician
  • Cardiology nurse technician
  • Visiting nurse
  • Nurse - birthing room
  • Triage nurse
  • Physician's office nurse
  • Youth centre nurse
  • Staff nurse
  • Out-patient clinic nurse
  • Red cross nurse
  • Victorian order of nurses (von) nurse
  • Recovery room nurse
  • Operating room (or) nurse
  • Ambulatory care nurse
  • Primary care nurse
  • Liaison nurse
  • Float nurse
  • Intensive care unit (icu) nurse
  • Industrial nurse
  • Hospital nurse
  • Ward nurse
  • Coronary unit nurse
  • Emergency nurse
  • Cardiology nurse
  • Cardiac surgery nurse
  • Dialysis nurse
  • Geriatric nurse
  • Gerontology nurse
  • Hemodialysis nurse
  • Hospital hygiene nurse
  • Occupational medicine nurse
  • Nephrology nurse
  • Nephrology and renal 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 victim 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
  • Private duty nurse
  • Psychiatric and mental health nurse
  • Respiratory care nurse
  • Infection surveillance nurse
  • On-call nurse
  • Occupational health nurse consultant
  • Public health nurse consultant
  • Nurse counsellor
  • Nursing technician
More Less job titles

Skill type

Health

Related occupations

  • Allied primary health practitioners
  • Licensed practical nurses
  • Managers in health care
  • Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi This hyperlink will open in a new window.

Last update: May 5, 2022

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