[gino_76ph]

hi. Good Day! im a british citizen of filipino descent working as a nurse in a big NHS hospital here in London. im currently waiting for an application from an online recruiter of nurses from British Columbia. the advice i want to seek from anyone is:

1. do i need to apply for a nurse registration now or do i wait for my job application?

2. what type of exam do i need to take before i actually work there? or will i be given a "provisional" license to practice?

3. do you need a diferrent license if you are going to practice in a diferrent province or territory?

4. what's the best state to work in?

[janfrn]

All of your questions have been asked and answered several times, both here and in the International Nursing forum. There's a wealth of information in the similar threads, and if you use the search feature at the top right of your screen, you'll be busy reading for hours.

Short answers:
1. You should apply right away, because the process can be very lengthy. If you wait for an offer of employment, your prospective employer might get tired of waiting for the paperwork to be done.

2. You must write the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE) before you will be eligible for full licensure. Some provinces will give you a temporary license while you prepare for the exam; some will only let you work as a nursing assistant in the interim. It's only written three times a year and the deadline for application to write is about 3 months prior to the date of the exam. The next date that you could possibly write will be in October.

3. Each province is autonomous and has their own licensure requirements, processes and permit to practice. You can't work as a nurse in any province without a practice permit issued by that province.

4. Canada doesn't have states, we have provinces and territories. There is no way to answer your question without knowing what you're looking for in the place you live and work. Each province has its good points and its bad ones.

[gino_76ph]

Originally Posted by janfrn

All of your questions have been asked and answered several times, both here and in the International Nursing forum. There's a wealth of information in the similar threads, and if you use the search feature at the top right of your screen, you'll be busy reading for hours.

Short answers:
1. You should apply right away, because the process can be very lengthy. If you wait for an offer of employment, your prospective employer might get tired of waiting for the paperwork to be done.

2. You must write the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE) before you will be eligible for full licensure. Some provinces will give you a temporary license while you prepare for the exam; some will only let you work as a nursing assistant in the interim. It's only written three times a year and the deadline for application to write is about 3 months prior to the date of the exam. The next date that you could possibly write will be in October.

3. Each province is autonomous and has their own licensure requirements, processes and permit to practice. You can't work as a nurse in any province without a practice permit issued by that province.

4. Canada doesn't have states, we have provinces and territories. There is no way to answer your question without knowing what you're looking for in the place you live and work. Each province has its good points and its bad ones.

forgive me if i'm a bit ignorrant. but let's say i'm applying at British Columbia that would be the CRNBC am i right? but how do i know if for example if i'm applying for or got a job in Alberta what authority do i need to apply for that license?

[janfrn]

Reuglatory bodies in Canada are provincially driven.

Let's go west to east...
British Columbia is CRNBC
Alberta is CARNA
Saskatchewan is SRNA
Manitoba is CRNM
Ontario has two: CNO and RNAO
Quebec is OOIQ
New Brunswick is NANB
Nova Scotia is CRNNS
Prince Edward Island is ARNPEI
Newfoundland and Labrador is ARNNL
Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have RNANTN
and Yukon is YRNA.

Google searches using just the acronyms will get you to the websites of each board.

[gino_76ph]

you said i need to apply straight away as the process is lenghty. the thing is i have applications for B.C. and Ontario. should i just wait before a job has been confirmed before i actually apply for the province's nurse registration? would that be considered much practical?

[janfrn]

The assessment process followed by most regulatory bodies here is complex and time-consuming. It can take as long as several months (some here would say closer to a year!) to work through the process, and if your education is found not to meet the provincial standard, then you'll have to upgrade before you'll be allowed to write the CRNE. That upgrading will take a minimum of three months. So it doesn't make sense, if you haven't already been recruited and they're holding a job for you, to obtain a job before the process is even close to completion, because you'll just have to wait and wait until you have permission to write the CRNE before you can take your job. It's not like the nursing shortage in Canada is going to go away in the next few months; you'll be able to find a job once the licensing process is near completion. And having a job already doesn't speed up the process, since the two parties are not really connected in any way. A prospective employer may be able to help with the logistics, but in any real practical way.

[suzanne4]

Thread moved to International Forum since it is dealing with licensure and immigration questions per the little red banner at the top of the sub-forums.

Thanks for your understanding.

[gino_76ph]

i can see what you mean. but currently the "recruitment" people are not saying they are holding a job for me. i havn't heard from Vancouver yet, the Toronto guys from CNO said they are sending an assessment pack to me and Alberta is on the process of "them waiting for me to send my CV and assessed again" i suppose.

i know on the logistics side (travel, accomodation,etc.) they might provide that but as for me it's a case of "wait and see" who's provinve or authority i will a get a job and apply to.