Re: RPN/LPN/RNA all the same???
Hello. I am a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. I am also a nurse-educator on faculty in a BSN program. Additionally, I was one of the designers of a Bachelor in Psychiatric Nursing 4 year degree in BC. I would like to jump in to this conversation.
RPNs are recognized in the 4 Western Provinces of Canada as well as the 3 Territories. Our history stems from the old British system of training nurses to work with psychiatric patients. We have always accessed a separate, viable stream of psychiatric nursing education. RPNs started out just as the RNs did with diplomas, then by the 1980's we had our first Bachelor of Heatlh Sciences degree in Psychiatric Nursing, in Canada. Since then, we have degrees in each of the 4 provinces that recognize us. We have been identified by the Canadian Institute of Health Information as the best suited, best prepared nurses to work with individuals, families, groups and communities who are marginalized by their mental health and/or mental illness challenges. We no longer simply work with solely with the chronic or acutely mentally ill. Our careers are diverse and dynamic. We have our own provincial regulatory bodies and a national one. We are recognized by the Canadian Nurses Association and the Government of Canada. There are many job opportunities for RPNs here in Canada as well as in many other countries (especially those previously in the British Commonwealth).
If you would like more information about us, try the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia,
www.crpnbc.ca . You will find a number of us speaking at the European Psychiatric Nurses Conference in Malta this November, 2008. We host a World Congress of Psychiatric Nursing in Canada every 2 years. This year it was held in Regina, Saskatchewan in May.
I hope you have found this information helpful.
Very truly,
Melodie Hull, RPN, MSC, MED
Canada
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