Hi there!
My partner and I are currently looking at emigrating to Canada and want to know:
1) Do I have to get a full Registered Nurse degree before I can practice there (I currently have the RN Diploma and am a E Grade Senior Staff Nurse)
2) Does anyone know a rough idea of what is the quickest way to get to Canada (e.g. a work permit or a full emigration visa) and what that likely time period might be?
3) Are the medical requirements more or less strict that Oz to anyone's knowledge?
We're also looking at Australia and can get out there (to Adelaide) in around 6 months max on a permanent visa.
Cheers!

It is a lot harder to get registered in Canada than Australia. They do not issue tempoary work visa's for nurses. You will have to apply to the nursing board for whatever province you think you may want to live. You will then have to go through a long form filling process which involves obtaining transcripts of all your teaching and practical work. This has to be notarized and sent off.

You will then be assessed by the Nursing Board of that province to see if you are elligible to take the Canadian Registered Nurses Exam. They are quite strict about what elements they want to see you trained in. Which in most cases you must have modules of training in all of the following; obstetrics, maternity, general nursing and psychiatry. A lot of English nurses have some of these modules but not all. If you cannot show that you have training in these area you will be expected to go over to Canada on a temp work visa and train in hospital at your own expense. If you do have the training they require; they will issue you with a tempoary permit to sit the exam. Once you have passed the exam you can then call yourself a registered nurse in Canada and apply for work.

As most provinces are short of nurses once you passed the exam you can apply through the provincial nominee programme for your PR card. In BC there is an agency called Healthmatch; the website is www.healthmatchbc.org and as you can see there must be two hundred nursing vacancies on the lists. They are a goverment agency to help RN's find work. Good luck.

Just to add to Robbie's great info, note also that many openings are listed as part time or casual. Dig deeper, get your resume viewed by a keen recruiter, and you'd be surprised what openings they can find !!!

Degree is not required at this time but getting very likely to be standard fare in next couple of years that way things are heading. In BC if you are able to get registration and work under temporary permit (registered nurse permit, not work permit) if you are already registered as an RN, just need to pass CRNE exam. So it is a matter of firstly getting registration then finding a job (can't find job without registration). Exam can be written many months after starting work but may be usually just 3-9 months. You have three attempts to pass it.

To gain registration you'll also need three professional references.

Healthmatch are OK but very short staffed, a bit hit and miss. Remember you can also apply direct to health authorities once registered and able to work/sit exam.

e.g. here: http://qhr.interiorhealth.ca/qhr/qhrwat.dll/start

Also Healthmatch, for whatever reasons or self interests, may advise you of a position in somewhere like Kitimat, which may not be everyones cup of Tim Hortons, so beware and research thoroughly any job listings/areas/hospitals. All is not always well and happy shall we say I will tell you what they told MOH - "you'll never get a job in The Okanagan, everybody wants to work there" (summer 2004). 2005, she had a job offer FT permanent and they were prepared to wait 2 years for her services. So, Healthmatch, there's one in the eye for you.

Feel free to ask any questions via PM's as my other half is an extremely happy, 3-months-in-Canada, UK-trained nurse. She can outline a few differences for you, I'm sure, such as unionization, etc. Talking to a recruiter, this seems to be the objection for the temporary w/p (unionization) rather than any lack of desire to recruit people, so PNP is the fastest route here, and I hope it gets quicker too.

Good luck, remember that it may be hard work getting here and they most certainly do put you through many painful hoops to get registered (9 months for MOH) but it is most certainly worth it, she feels that the public sector/healthcare staff are far more valued, appreciated and rewarded, and Canada really does need good experienced healthcare workers - despite any negative impression you get from the outside. Perseverance is really the key.

Rich.

[QUOTE=Robbie500] They do not issue tempoary work visa's for nurses. You will have to apply to the nursing board for whatever province you think you may want to live. You will then have to go through a long form filling process which involves obtaining transcripts of all your teaching and practical work. This has to be notarized and sent off.



you can apply through a UK based agency, we used Geneva health (not the greatest) but they arranged the interview. You just need to keep onto them. You can get a temporary work visa, (Mr P did), once you are offered the job. Mr P came out to canada to sit the Canadian Registered Nurses exam before starting the position, but he did not have to , he could have sat it once we were there. (I think its within 3-6 months and you are paid as a grad nurse until you qualify).
There is a lot of form filling and you will need transcripts of your training which must be submitted to your registering body ( each province has a different body), along with a NMC document stating your entry onto the UK register. The provincial body then decides if your training was equivalent to that of a Canadian nurse, if so they issue a temporary grad nurse permit and you can then apply for the CRNE exam.

Feel free to PM us if you need any further info.

I know nothing of Nursing - and I admire and respect the people who do the job.

I would suggest you check out New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Scheme - Skilled Worker.

Here IN NB, everyone is heading west for better conditions etc.

You might find that the New Brunswick Area Health Authorities - snap you up!

look at http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/immigrat...ces/pro25.html


Also for anyone including Medical look here

http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/immigrat...tered%20Nurses

Effective July 1st, 2005 the MPNP will accept an application from an individual in any occupation who

Can demonstrate their employability in Manitoba;
If their occupation is listed on the MPNP Occupational Requirements List, meet specific requirements in order to demonstrate that they are employable in Manitoba;
These requirements are listed on our website and are regularly updated. Please visit our website for any changes to the MPNP Occupational Requirements List;
If an applicant is applying under an occupation indicated on the Occupational Requirements List, they should demonstrate proof of meeting these requirements before applying to the MPNP.