Hello,


Briefly, myself and my partner plan on emigrating to Vancouver with our two young children in 2023.

My partner is a Registered Nurse here in the UK with a Diploma of Higher Education in Adult Nursing, with 5.5 years of experience in a General Surgical ward and 6 months in Critical Care.

We have emailed BCCNP asking questions who have said she will more than likely be required to complete a competency assessment in Canada & more than likely will need transitional education. Would this transitional education (top up) have to be carried out in Vancouver, or could it be carried out in the UK?

If the above is true and competencies and courses at college/uni are required in Canada then we feel that it will put huge pressure on our family, especially at a time when we’re all trying to settle into the new country. so far it seems virtually impossible to move over to Canada as an International Nurse. How do young families cope?

Is there anyway around this? I heard something about registering with another province with easier terms and then transferring it to BCCNP? How does that even work? Would that mean we would be required to live in another province for a certain period of time before we move to Vancouver?

We feel so deflated at the moment, it really feels like our dream move to Vancouver just isn’t going to happen anymore.

Many Thanks
Anton

Hi, I know you are thinking about going to BC but, there is some info on the Alberta Nursing Body (College Association Registered Nurses Alberta) page regards IEN assessments. It states to first have an assessment carried out by NNAS in regards your qualifications.
it is worth also looking at rural nursing as opposed to the main city hospitals. Good luck and hope it all works out for you.

Hi there,

I am currently coming to the end of this process. I am from BC and lived in the UK for 11 years with my British husband. I did my nursing degree in the UK, getting a BSc (Hons) First Class in adult nursing in 2015. I first applied to NNAS in late 2016, did NCAS in August 2017. BCCNP required me to do the full “bridging” program.

This program is offered by 2 universities. Kwantlen in Langley and Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. Kwantlen is a 1 year full-time program. TRU is offered through OpenLearning, but is specific for students that have Canadian Healthcare experience, either as a HCA or LPN. i applied and got accepted onto both, getting onto the open learning program on my education and experience working as a Certified Dental Assistant in Canada before moving to the UK.

I started TRU’s program in April 2018, doing my theory modules in the UK. We moved back to BC as a family in July 2019. There are two components of TRU’s program that need to be completed in BC, a 4 day clinical skills session in Kamloops that I did in August, and a 8 week practicum that I start next week. I should be finished by mid December and hope that my provisional registration from BCCNP comes in by early January. After that I will be eligible to write NCLEX, and you are given a year to do it.

How do we cope as a young family? (we have a 3 year old)... we are lucky enough that we are staying with my Mom, and my husband managed to land and start a job by September. I am still currently unemployed, as it was too difficult to find a job knowing that I had a full-time practicum coming up. Still, despite living rent-free, being both being unemployed for 10 weeks and the expenses of moving abroad took nearly all of our savings. Plus TRU’s program is not eligible for student loans and has cost more then $10000. But still, we are aware that we have had a easier time then a lot of internationally educated nurses or people looking to immigrate and for that we are grateful.

So it isn’t impossible, but it is certainly incredibly difficult and expensive. I hope that helps you have a idea of what the process looks like. Best of luck to you and your family 🙂

(posted by Brooks52’s Mrs)