Chisasibi: a first experience in the Cree communities
Chisa, you’ve got to go there to live it and understand it. But by sharing our experience, and that of J-K and Anna, we hope to give you the urge to go, because it’s a must on your bucket list as an agency nurse. Unfortunately, it’s not a place where there’s a need for orderlies (PABs), because it’s locals who work there full-time.
How you get there!
Whether by car or by plane, we recommend the plane. Faster. More efficient (when you’re not doing a round trip to MTL because of the weather like JK and Anne, who had to take the same flight twice). More nutritious (long live the pancake/yogurt/berry breakfasts included on the flight). In short, more of everything.
Resourcefulness, you shall master
Going to Chisasibi means showing a whole lot of R (for Resourcefulness). Things won’t always go the way you expected. That’s part of the adventure. The moment you step off the plane, you can feel the warmth and kindness of the people. It’s a community that’s proud of its origins, its roots and its land. It’s easy to feel at home, since the people around you take an interest in you, but they also put on activities that let you take a greater interest in them. For example: we got to take part in a newcomers’ ceremony, inside the hospital’s teepee.
Language barrier
Even though it’s worrying for some to land in an English-speaking environment, you adapt easily to the terms thanks to the team on site, who are ultra-sweet like everyone else out there. It’s a workplace where it’s easy to fit in and be part of the next happy hour. That said, it’s important to let your Québécois accent shine and roll your “R”s, because while it’s fine to speak French among colleagues, on the flip side, it’s frowned upon by the community to speak French to them (tied to their history from the past). Our advice: you need a base in English if you want to dive into this beautiful adventure. It’s still a challenge, but one heck of a beautiful challenge. It’s fun to step out of your comfort zone and throw language into the mix!
The day-to-day at the hospital
Curious to know how it goes at the hospital? It always depends which department you decide to work in, but if the Chisasibi ER interests you, expect to be on call. Personally, we were never called in, but while we were there some people did have to come lend a hand. You have to understand it’s a small hospital, with only 2 nurses on days and evenings and 1 nurse at night. So it’s relatively quiet, BUT it can quickly get busy during certain seasons/times of the year. Ask J-K and Anna, who had their hands full during a few shifts. They’re the ones who said it, not us: “We thought we’d take it a bit more relaxed, but we had some big shifts and a lot of different cases. It was interesting, because you don’t have the same protocols or the same equipment as in the city or in the regions. We were constantly learning. Often, we had to transfer patients onto the plane and it wasn’t like in the other centres, because here you don’t go out onto the runway, it’s the Med-Evac team that comes to pick up patients at the hospital. Although it can happen from time to time that you have to head to the airport for complex cases. The paramedics aren’t really paramedics, they’re more like drivers. It’s far from boring, but it takes a lot of adapting. We can sum up our experience in two words: enriching and stimulating. We’d recommend it to anyone who wants to have a first experience in the communities, it’s really a beautiful introduction to the North.”
The little things in life
Finally, if you decide to take the big northern leap, whatever you do, don’t forget to go for walks. The Northern air does the mind good, and you might even get to see the northern lights. And if you happen to be out of luck looking up at the sky, stay connected to the land, because you’ll make yourself some four-legged friends for sure. It’s northern-dog paradise up there. Just goes to show how an activity that simple can become a highlight in a magical place like this one.
If you too feel like setting off on an adventure with us, explore our assignment regions.