Hardeep Kaur was working as a registered nurse in the UK when she heard about the GoHealth BC (GHBC) travel nursing program while attending the BC Health Careers UK roadshow in 2024. The program interested her because it provided an opportunity to work in another country and to explore the province of BC.
“Coming to Canada was a completely new thing. My reasoning for choosing GoHealth BC was that I could explore more places and be able to choose where I wanted to settle down in the future,” Hardeep explained. “Now that I have explored a few hospitals in a few different communities, I want to do something permanent.”
Hardeep’s choice to move to Canada and work with GHBC in January 2025 has worked out well so far, due in part to the support she received from her program lead, Kim Frost.
“She helped me all the way through, and every question I asked, she answered it very well,” she noted. “Nursing in Canada is similar to the UK, but every country [and province] has their own policies and procedures. It worked well having someone to support me.”
The best part of the job according to Hardeep has been getting to explore different, and lesser known, communities in BC and getting to know the different worksites and people there. Of the various places she worked, Terrace stood out because of the helpful staff and opportunities for work there. The team even helped her with applying for her full-time position.
“I've done both community and long-term care, which I’m passionate about, but I chose to work in long-term care in Terrace so that I can settle in one facility,” she said. “I wanted to learn the policies and procedures and get to know who to approach for help.”
Another thing that helped Hardeep on her journey to nursing in Canada were the recruitment incentives available to her.
“That money helped me a lot with my move to Canada,” she said “It’s expensive to send everything from the UK to Canada so having those incentives helped me buy the things I needed for my home here, which I’m very thankful for.”
Hardeep is looking forward to beginning permanent work in Terrace on October 1st. After travelling around the province with GHBC, the first thing she wants to do is get settled in the community with her husband who is also an RN. In the future, Hardeep is planning to do ER specialty education available through Northern Health.
To anyone interested in working with Northern Health or exploring opportunities in BC’s more rural and remote areas, Hardeep offered some advice.
“It’s a great place to work,” she shared. “Everybody I’ve met through GoHealth BC has been knowledgeable - they really helped guide not just me, but everyone in the program. I think GoHealth BC is helpful for the site staff and it’s definitely the program to go into if you want to explore more communities.”
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