What to do after SEC assessment?

What I mean, when I have to produce my credentials, I fill out a check sheet, usually it goes something like this. Proficient, Needs Supervision, no experience. Most US nurses give an honest assessment of their self assessment. Also the transcripts the school produces gives an honest evaluation of what the nurse is taught.

IENs who have come to Canada, once people who are best to judge their nursing practice, have decided that many IENs who came to Alberta were not practicing at their level for an RN but at the LPN level. This is not fair to the Canadian Health Care System.
I don't think it was done to be deceptive only to gain passage to Canada. Unfortunately or fortunately the IENs could not fake their lack of experience and education Hence the assessment.

Why not fund a few Canadian reviews to do the assessment on Philippine soil, it would be cheaper for you. Or you will have to go the expensive route but it wouldn't be a gamble for you since you appear very comfortable with your practice. Spending a few thousand dollars seems to be a cheap price for a nursing career in Canada but that is only my opinion.

In Canada there are 6 years of elementary school, three years of junior high school and three years of high school. That is what is required for direct entry into university. Mature students are required to upgrade their secondary school education to the minimum provincial standard in order to be admitted to university.



All of those basic nursing skills are taught within the nursing degree here. The graduate needs no further "seminars" or certificates in those areas because they've already been learned. That sort of thing makes it difficult to compare the two programs, because what skills are taught here as part of the degree process seem to be add-on courses there. It's very confusing and raises concerns about the depth and breadth of education there.

Who pays for your plan? It would appear that the taxpayers of the province to whom you plan to provide your services would be on the hook here... for tens of thousands of dollars per candidate. Because it is tax money that pays for every single aspect of health care in this country. Hospitals are not businesses here and have no independent sources of income. Post-secondary education is also heavily subsidized by tax money so the taxpayer is already partially paying for the education of Canadian nurses. Canadians pay proportionately more in taxes than most other industrialized countries. Should they really be expected to pay for the education of IENs too? Again it seems to boil down to someone else paying for your dream.

To answer the original question, I'm just back from Canada, done a focused assessment, but also used the time to look at potential units (had phone interview before), and for this work had to do another exam. So I've done it all together.

Immigration(changing countries) is expensive, I've done it before so I know. And I rather have my results prior to commencing work, so I will be relativly sure to meet the standards and pass the probation time.

Of course it would be great if some of the assessments could be done elswhere as well as the CRNE, but it's just not case. So I don't understand what the discussion is about, if you want to go to Canada, you have to do it the Canadian way, and btw except for the US, no other country offers exams outside their territory. And at the end of it, immigration to Canada is still one of the most straightforward things to do.

The SEC itself I found as fair as it can be (that's the Alberta/Saskatchewan version). If I should need additional training so be it.

5cats

Everything!

Your basic K-12 education prepares you with the cognitive skills needed to engage in process of critical inquiry and critical thinking. The more time you have in school to perfect those skills the better they will be.


The SEC is not about skills. It is a Substantially Equivalent Competency assessment and sample patient scenarios are available at the link.

You will notice that the scenarios are more about critical thinking than skills assessment.

The SEC is recommended when the paper work alone does not provide the evidence that the applicant's background and education are equivalent to that required in Canada.
The cost of the assessment is substantial and the governments are subsidizing this so an applicant required to take the SEC does not pay the full cost of the assessment, at least in BC anyway.

I am truly saddened that skilled and experienced nurses are facing so many barriers in getting to Canada because the jobs are here waiting for you, however, I can tell you that the Canadian public expects a lot from the health care system that they own.
While it is true that there is not much difference in performing a nursing skill in Canada than anywhere else that is not the issue.

It is the autonomous, independent, and collaborative role of the nurse that is the challenge for most IEN's. The learning that is needed is not within the psychomotor domain ( how to do it) but within the affective domain (ideas, values , and beliefs).
If you cannot make the transition into the role of the nurse that is expected in Canada then you will not likely be successful in the workplace.

Thankfully most internationally educated nurses can do this but they face many challenges along the way, as this thread illustrates.

Thank you so much for explaining the SEC so clearly, RN_Canada. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what it is and why we do it. And I especially liked your comment about the Canadian public expecting a lot from the health care system WE OWN. We pay for every single thing, from cotton balls and Band-aids to education and research through our taxes, and we want the best of it all that our money can buy. As I just indicated on another thread (also about the SEC) nurses in Canada have a great deal of responsibility and autonomy and they need to be able to manage their practice safely and ethically in all spheres, not just skills.

Can somebody please answer the original question "what to do while waiting for SEC assessment results?" 3-8 weeks is a torture if all you can do is wait...

What happens when the results are out... Are we suppose to travel back home and wait some more?

I expect that would be up to you. If you're here on a tourist visa and staying with family then you could just do that while you wait. If you're staying in a hostel or hotel it would probably be cheaper to return home to wait. You could see about getting involved with a CRNE study group so that you would be ready for the exam when you're given authorization to write it. Don't forget that the deadline for application fo the exam is about 90 days before the exam date; you don't have to be here to apply though. If you have trouble even thinking about waiting for the results of your SEC you're going to have a REALLY hard time waiting for your CRNE results... they take at least 6 weeks but often 8.

To AVKON : hi! I have the same problem as you do although my SEC invitation expires February of next year. Have you figured out what to do after SEC? I'm toying with the idea of going there as an immigrant with the help of an agency.That way I would have papers allowing me to work while I wait for all the results. The initial cost is expensive, though.

to AsiaRN

hi... hope you can share your experience... when did you receive your SEC invitation? In what province are you applying? thanks a lot