Croatian nurse sets sights on Texas instead of ‘complicated’ Ontario system

Domagoj Tonžetić said he found the system of applying to work as a nurse in an Ontario hospital convoluted to the point of being unworkable.

Domagoj Tonžetić works as a nurse in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Croatia’s capital, Zagreb.

More than two years ago, he began the process of applying to work as a nurse in Ontario, searching for new opportunities.

“In Canada, I see a much wider range of professional development than I see here,” he told Global News.

But he recently put his Canadian dream on pause, shifting his focus to the United States. He said he will soon begin working as a nurse in Texas.

The process to work in Ontario, he said, was “too complicated” and “impossible to navigate.”

Tonžetić struggled to find a role as a foreign-trained nurse in Ontario comes as the province’s health-care system is under significant strain. Emergency rooms have been forced to close and intensive care units reached capacity over the past few days.

The current crisis, brought on by several factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, has been compounded by a nursing shortage.

In a statement to Global News, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) said it was “outraged about the severe nursing and health-care staffing shortages that are plaguing hospitals.”