Registered nurses work for:
- regional health authorities
- clinics (ambulatory, medical, dental and community, public health)
- primary care settings
- nursing homes
- home care agencies
- large corporations and insurance companies
- government services (for example, prisons, outpost nursing, the foreign service, the Canadian Armed Forces)
- schools
Some nurses are self-employed.
Advancing to supervisor or administrator may require a master’s degree in nursing or a related field. Registered nurses may also become nurse practitioners (NPs). They may do this by taking graduate courses and training in advanced clinical practice. For more information, see the Nurse Practitioner occupational profile.
Registered nurses are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses. In Alberta, 96% of people employed in this classification work in the Health Care and Social Assistance [pdf] industry.
The employment outlook [pdf] in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
- trends and events that affect overall employment (especially in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry)
- location in Alberta
- employment turnover (work opportunities that come up when people leave existing positions)
- occupational growth (work opportunities that come up when new positions are created)
- size of the occupation.
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.
In Alberta, the 3012: Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses occupational group is expected to have an above-average annual growth of 3.6% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 1361 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.