Happier French nurses in Quebec

To share out ? This is out of the question for Magali Rénia, a nurse who arrived from France in 2019. “This is where I feel at home. »

Louise Leduc
The Press

Like her, more than a thousand nurses – strongly courted by Quebec, particularly since the start of the pandemic – have been recruited abroad since 2019. At the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal, “in taking into account only intensive care, we have around thirty French nurses. Fortunately they are there, ”underlines the D^r Martin Albert, intensivist in this establishment.

Even in the midst of a pandemic, the French nurses interviewed (who form the largest contingent) are generally delighted. The “compulsory overtime” (OST) is certainly a major irritating factor for those who have to work, but they are happy to have far fewer patients in their charge. They are also better paid and, they explain, the care philosophy lives up to Quebec’s excellent reputation in France in this regard.

On the other hand, all without exception rail against the delay in the computerization of the files which make them lose “certainly an hour and a half of care with the patients”, calculates Lucie Lottin, who practices at the Honoré-Mercier hospital, in Saint- Hyacinthe, since June.

Very aware of its computer delay, the Legault government has just announced the hiring of 3,000 administrative agents to lend a hand to nurses.

Like Magali Rénia, settled in the Plateau Mont-Royal with her family, Lucie Lottin points out that she and her spouse, who live in a village near Saint-Hyacinthe with their four children, do not see themselves returning to France. “Life is so much sweeter here,” she says.

“I may be on my honeymoon, but the other day I was infusing a patient, and out the window I saw all the snow. I do not get enough. The landscapes amaze me! »

Here, as she did in France, she works with freshly operated patients.

So many fewer patients? All the interviewees said so (with ratios that differ according to the units in which they work).

“In a so-called “traditional” care unit such as pulmonology, cardiology or internal medicine, on average, in France, we have 10 to 12 patients during the day and twice as much at night, explains Mathilde Selle, arrival in Quebec in May 2021. In the hospital where I currently work, in Quebec, for the same type of care units, it’s four patients for a nurse on a day [8 h à 16 h], six patients for one nurse in the evening [16 h à minuit] and nine nurses for one patient at night. »

Highly the computerization of files

Even in the midst of the wave of the Omicron variant? “Our unit leaders didn’t want to increase the ratio. They wanted to provide safe patient care. »

Patient care is greatly facilitated, underlines Magali Rénia, “by working in pairs with nursing assistants. Here, nurses have a lot less medicine to give to patients. […] But there is so much paperwork! “.

Mathieu Fourcroy, who comes from the north of France, admits that it almost made him pack up. “At first, I questioned my choice a lot when I saw how much everything was handwritten here. […] The French greatly idealize the field of health care in Quebec, which they believe is much more advanced. In fact, in terms of care, it is equivalent. »

The positive aspects of his practice here, however, convinced him to stay. “We feel much less the hierarchical side than in France. There is real recognition of our profession, we speak more with doctors and we can have more impact. »

Magali Rénia, who came here with her husband and their three children, cannot believe that she is finally considered French, “for the first time in her life”. “In France, when people talk to me, they immediately ask me where my color comes from. Here, never. »

From a professional point of view, M.^me Rénia feels that the horizon is vast. “In France, there are only two possibilities: to be a hospital nurse, or to be a self-employed nurse, and do home care. In Quebec, you can work in the public sector in home care, work at the CLSC, in research. »

Mathilde Selle explains that she wanted to work in a city that was not too big, close to nature, from where it was easy to go hiking. “Recruiters suggested Quebec to me. It could just as well have been Trois-Rivières or Rimouski! », says this traveler at heart who has worked in the four corners of France and in New Caledonia.

“What I liked first and foremost was the welcome I received and the benevolence of Quebecers. In France, any error is used to punish. Here, if you make a mistake that has no consequence – a minor record keeping problem, for example – you will be told: “Let’s see what we can put in place so that it doesn’t happen again. .” »

A long permanent residence to obtain

None of the professionals interviewed found the delays before being able to come here excessive. “Canada deserves it! “says Lucie Lottin. On the other hand, the five to seven years that they will have to wait to obtain permanent residence seem exaggerated to them. “That, to get it, is a real obstacle course! “says M.^me Lottine.

Her eldest daughter, now old enough to drive, was told she was not allowed to have her licence. And in fact, on the website of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, it is specified that non-residents can only drive with a foreign license if this license is valid. But she never had one.

“It’s our first slap,” said M.^me Lottin, emphasizing how disabling this can be in a village and in a province where public transport outside the big cities is rare.

A nurse who did not wish to be named here noted that the overtime granted, the risks taken in the midst of a pandemic with patients (which led to many contracting COVID-19) and the obligation to be vaccinated should earn them permanent residence or nationality much more quickly for those who are waiting for it.

In Quebec for six years and based in Sherbrooke, Frank Boulasladj was able to have his permanent residence after one year, taking advantage of a first version of the Quebec Experience program.

“In France, I had my own home care practice. I lost a lot when I left, but I don’t regret anything. I was given my chance and am now a nursing consultant. I could never have had a position like that in France. »

“Being from the LGBT community, he continues, I no longer found myself in France, where there is a lot of discrimination. I like my life here better. There are fewer judgments, society is more inclusive. »