Emergency & ICU Specialty Registered Nurse - Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered Nurse

Emergency & ICU Specialty Registered Nurse

Travel Nurse — Contract

Schedule: Rotating 12-Hour Shifts (Days/Nights), Weekends, And Holidays As Required

Previous Nova Scotia Health Experience Preferred

Role Summary:
Provide emergency nursing care in NSHA Emergency Departments across Nova Scotia. You will manage a high-acuity, fast-paced patient caseload including trauma, medical emergencies, acute presentations, and triage.
NSHA highly values returning nurses who have previously worked in their facilities. Nova Scotia offers beautiful coastlines, friendly communities, and a lower cost of living than most major Canadian cities.

Must-Haves:

• Minimum 2 years of recent Emergency Department/ICU nursing experience. Can be a mix of ED/ICU exp
  
• Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing
• Active registration (or eligibility) with the Nova Scotia College of Nursing (NSCN)
• Basic Life Support — Level C (Health Care Provider) Certification (current)
• RN entry-level competencies: nasogastric tubes, IV initiation
• RN post-entry competencies: venipuncture, CVAD care, PICC line care, direct IV medication administration
• Computer literate (Microsoft Office, electronic charting systems)
• Must read, write, and speak fluent English
• Legal right to work in Canada
• CTAS (Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale) triage competency — strongly preferred

Preferred/Nice-to-Have:

• ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certification
• TNCC (Trauma Nursing Core Course) certification
• CACCN (Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses) certification
• Experience with CRRT, IABP, or other advanced critical care modalities
• Previous NSHA / Nova Scotia travel nursing experience (highly valued)
• Previous travel nursing experience

Key Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and direct overall nursing care for assigned patients
• Provide clinical leadership in complex or unpredictable patient care settings
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary care teams to achieve patient and family outcomes
• Administer medications, including IV medications, per hospital formulary
• Complete all required documentation by the end of the shift
• Comply with NSHA site-specific policies, emergency codes, and organizational practices
• Perform rapid triage assessments using the CTAS framework
• Manage high-acuity emergency presentations, including trauma and resuscitation, or provide advanced critical care nursing for hemodynamically unstable patients
• Initiate emergency interventions and stabilization protocols
• Participate in emergency response teams and code situations
  
• Manage ventilated patients and complex monitoring equipment
• Administer vasoactive medications and titrate drips per protocol

Pre-Deployment Requirements

All candidates must complete before deployment:

• Criminal records check AND vulnerable sector check (clean — no exceptions)
• Full immunization compliance per NSHA requirements (Influenza, COVID-19, Varicella, Hepatitis B, Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Tdap, Meningococcal, Tuberculosis testing)
• Proof of legal right to work in Canada
• Completion of Nova Scotia Health General Orientation course
• Signed Pledge of Confidentiality