Nursing in Canada
 

I apologise if this has already been discussed.

Just some advice needed really. About to qualify with a Degree in Nursing (Child). I am currently applying for my IEC so I can move in with my Canadian boyfriend of 3 years.

As far as I am aware my options are limited and I'm best of waiting for my PR as common law and then applying for a course for internationally trained nurses (I've seen a few universities in Ontario that do this).

Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks so much! :)

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Hi,

I have been volunteering in a local hospital in TO and been sifting through 100's of registered nurse resumes everyday for the past few weeks. Just for you to know the criteria seems to be based on a relevant Canadian qualification for which the bridging programme at schools like George Brown which seems to be a two year course and the other criterion is to be registered with the College of Nurses http://www.cno.org/en/become-a-nurse...utside-canada/. The hospital I am with also provide student program's as its affiliated with the University of Toronto.

My understanding is that you can work as a nurse under the IEC but need to take a medical exam prior as part of the IEC application. Whether you can study or not with an IEC I am not sure.

I hope this has helped :)

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Thanks
You can't study on an IEC, and you have to be a citizen or PR to enrol on most of the bridging the gap programmes. I don't mind waiting untill then to enrol, I just don't think I would pass the Ontario nursing province exam without doing the degree. It will be worth it in the end though, the salary is much higher for nurses in Canada than here, and the quality of life in general :).
Do you know if the hospital you work at seconds people to do their nurse training?

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Just be aware for the College to OK you for bridging or the exam (CRNE) they must assess your transcripts and for all you will need both clinical and theory hours in Paeds, Mental Health, Adult and Obstetrics.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Wow this is almost exactly my situation!! am a qualified paediatric nurse working at great Ormond street hospital, just applied for my IEC and about to move in with my canadian boyfriend in Calgary, AB. hopefully in april. Am also looking into the nursing thing as it seems the Canadian qualification is almost always a 4 year Baccalaureate degree in generalist Adult nursing and then they specialise so they dont recognise our Child branch qualification. Its my understanding that in Alberta i must submit an application to CARNE to assess my eligibility to be registered with the college of nurses there ( like our NMC) just this eligibility assessment process costs over $500 and mostly us brits aren't eligible... they then tell you what it will take to become eligible and mostly its either to re-train or add additional training& clinical hours in order to pass a test over 5 days at a specific nursing institution to be competent as an adult/generalist nurse. My friend is out there now doing the same thing in Saskatchewan and has had to go back to college as a first year student nurse after being qualified 10 years :(. Either way none of this is something you can undertake on the IEC so I guess you'd have to get PR/Sponsorship. Its harsh our qualification is not recognised :(

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Not harsh just that the UK stopped being general trained many years ago and I am sure it was done for a reason like trying to stop nurses from moving overseas. I trained back in the UK both as a ENG and RN and my training covered all areas but still had to do some coursework to meet requirements but a lot was to do with how my transcripts was laid out in regards clinical and theory.

Canada is general trained and 4 years but they do take breaks at summer and winter so I think time wise would work out the same as a UK BSN training as long as all areas covered like Paeds, Mental Health, Obstetrics and Adult and that both clinical and theory is covered

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Once you are qualified, you would need to apply to the CNO (link above) to b assessed for eligibility - this is a long process. All my research so far has shown that you cant enter a bridging course for IENs without a letter of direction from CNO. The CNO also looks at registration with your nursing body (NMC), and you may need to have worked in the country where you were registered.

As Silverdragon said, nurses here are generalist trained - much like the old training pre Project 2000.

I am not sure what it is like in Toronto, but I am in London ON and they are very strict regarding working even as a support worker - they want you to have a Personal Support Worker Certificate in order to employ you as a carer.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I am not sure what it is like in Toronto, but I am in London ON and they are very strict regarding working even as a support worker - they want you to have a Personal Support Worker Certificate in order to employ you as a carer.[/QUOTE]

Yep thats what i found in Alberta too...i asked if i could work as a nurse aid/ HCA on my IEC ( i have had a medical) and they said my qualifications ( 8 years qualified- BSc degree and masters) were not transferable to the support worker certificate and that it would be at the hiring managers disgression if i was employable! Kinda made me want to leave that right there and do bar work! :thumbdown:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I happen to think that its fairly harsh that I cant pursue my chosen career in Canada unless i retrain and start again from scratch after 8 years qualified :ohmy: I would not want to be a student nurse again for love or money so will have to leave my nursing career behind once i get to canada...harsh is one of the words id use to describe that...

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I moved to Toronto in 2010 and decided not to attempt to get registered with CNO as I qualified a long time ago (SRN!!) and was in Occupational Health for quite some time. My friend moved here last year and spent a few frustrating months going between CNO and the university :banghead: to get onto a bridging course but admitted defeat and is now looking at other career options.
Sorry that doesn't help you, but you won't be the first person to have to give up your nursing career:sad_smile:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

The same thing happens when a Canadian nurse tries to move to the UK. A friend who has her B.Sc.N. and worked as a pediatric oncology nurse here in London, Ontario moved to the UK with her boyfriend engineer. She spent the better part of a year trying to get certified in the UK. Gave up in the end - no matter how much documentation she provided there was always one more thing. She ended up working as a baby sitter in the UK and made almost as much as what she would have earned as a nurse.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

This is depressing. I guess I'm faced with the choice of being with my boyfriend and being a nurse.
I did a common foundation year in my first year of university where we did both theory and practice hours in mental health, adult and learning disability but not obstertic, how stressful.
I really don't want to spend 4 years doing my nursing training all over again!

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

There is no harm in sendin off your application to CNO and see what they say......it is about $650 and takes a long time. Uou may as well get the wheels in motion to see where you stand. They will need transcripts from uni sent directly to them and they assess your training and will advise on the steps you need to take to become eligible to take the CRNE.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Thanks, I should keep postive

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

This wasn't the case with my daughter. She worked in a trauma unit in Toronto and moved to a similar job in London (technically she has both jobs so long as she does a couple of shifts a year in Toronto). The biggest bother for her was the IELTs exam, which to her irritation, her partner, an EU national, didn't have to take even though she took her degree in English and he qualified in Italian.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I think it's very frustrating yes but harsh no.......what people forget is education is different here and you won't have to retrain completely just top up in the areas they require.

I came from the UK in October I was an ITU nurse and I'm expecting a baby so my career is on hold for a while but definitely plan to not let my career go, worked far too hard to do that, plus the money is great here!!

Don't give up hope, apply and find out what they need you to do!!

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

contemplating a career as a paramedic, seems like it will take just as long to train as a paramedic from scratch as it will to top up my nursing, and the salary is better. Food for thought

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

From reading the post here, I see that some people are under the impression that they have to retrain in their quest to nurse in Canada. I apologise if I have the wrong end of the stick here :)
I can only speak from my perspective in coming to work as an RN in Alberta.

I personally did not have to do any bridging or SEC's.
I think as Silverdragon has said 'it is how your transcripts are set out regards to the clinical and theoretical hours undertaken' as to the assessment and decision on your eligibility to obtain a nursing licnece.


As for RN's working as HCA's, I believe they do need a relevant certification, but on the flip side I have seen some applications come across my desk where an RN ( in the process of trying to gain registration) has been employed as an HCA. In the same vien I have also had RN's working as LPN's.

There are many variations from hospital to hospital never mind province to province.

The best thing is to contact the relevant Nursing Licensing body for the province you wish to settle and go from there.

Good luck to all and I hope it all works out for you :fingerscrossed:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Thanks thats encouraging. The only thing I don't have on my transcrpit will be the obstetrics, I did a common foundation year where I did theory and practice in adult, mental health and LD, and obviously paediatric but we didn't do any midwifery, just a neonatal placement.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Well iv contacted the nurse registration board in Alberta and was informed that my degree was not equivalent and that i would in fact have to retrain completely. I have a friend out there currently who trained&worked with me & has had to do that exact thing. I don't want to lose my career either but i have no choice, i cant afford to be an unpaid student nurse for another 4 years as well as pay for the course as a foreign student (way more expensive) :thumbdown:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

What a shame the qualifications you have worked hard for can not be transferable!! There must be a way surely! It would be such a shame to give up a skill/career that you worked hard for. To have to re train would be hard. I wish you all the luck in the world.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I am so sorry to hear that. What reason did they give that your degree was not eqivelent?

I am shocked. There must be some way to appeal?

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

I was shocked too! but apparently it seems fairly standard for the british qualification to be rejected. I emailed CARNE-the nurse regulatory body in Alberta and they said because i am paediatric trained with no generalist training my education and clinical experience would not be the same or equivalent to theirs. In my training we did modules on Mental health as well as learning disabilities and a foundation course in adult nursing biology but this is not enough, and they have suggested I would have to retrain. they have said I can apply to have my eligibility assessed but this costs $550 and it is most probable that i would be rejected straight out. At the moment whilst funding my move to Canada under the IEC i unfortunately havent got a spare £350 to be told i am not eligible. Also a friend i trained with who has the exact same qualification was rejected last year so im assuming this will happen to me- I cant see any reason why it would be different. Im gutted, been a nurse 8 years and dont want to give it up but cannot realistically retrain, both financially, practically and mentally- It was enough 10 years ago....:(

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

:(
I see as you are paediatric trained and not general. It is a shame, but they have a generalist training here.

Is there any way you could do some RN Adult training in the UK, to give you the RN Adult degree? I expect you have thought of changing speciality.
This may only take 18 months.

I hope it all can work out for you, best of luck :fingerscrossed:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

A friend of mine did not have the required hours in obstetrics, but they allowed her to work whilst taking that SEC under the condition that she did not at anytime work with those clients, it was a condition on her temporary licence. I am not sure how common this is, but she was the only one I knew who did this.

:fingerscrossed:

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Don't you lose your registration in the uk if you dont practice for 3 years? And if you're not registered in the uk i'm pretty sure you can't enroll on a BIEN program
Soooo much red tape I hate it

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

Well i'm in BC and a Adult Nurse and you have to have worked as a registered nurse in the last 5 years to be able to apply. For me i think i will probably have to take extra courses and do more clinical hours if i have a year not nursing. My plan is to sit SEC in Jan 2014.

In the UK you have to re register every year so officially mine is up for renewal at the end of this month.

It is sooooo frustrating......wish it was easier but it ain't and i don't think worth losing your career when you have worked so hard, but it appears to be much harder for paeds nurses.

Re: Nursing in Canada
 

My wife is a uk adult nurse, she did spells in various departments before moving to A/E, she then did a pediatric degree. She transferred her training to Canada no problem. Worked over here as a grad nurse in emerg until she sat her carna exam. We know of a number of other nurses who have done this.

It can be done, but only if you have had the correct range of training. This applies to all jobs/trades not just nursing.