Alberta LPN

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Hi Everybody! I am not new to AllNurses, although this is my first post. I will be attending Norquest College this Sept for the full time practical nursing program. I am set to graduate on the spring of 2009. I was wondering if anyone has gone to Norquest and would like to share their experiences. I am especially interested in the clinical part of it. Also, does anyone here work as an LPN in Edmonton? What do you think of it? Where do you work and how much do you get paid? I hope someone can answer all of my questions. Thanks!

We were talking about that last week at work. And no, these nurses from overseas are not going to save us. Some have already been advised that they aren't cutting it.

We find it really interesting that these nurses are coming over now that the bridge program in Alberta is gone. CH could have saved a load of money by offering the diploma RN course through GMCC to their LPNS. Tie it to 2 or 3 years service and they could have saved a lot of trouble. Most of the LPNs working have ties to the Edmonton area and wouldn't be jumping ship as soon as they could.

BUT that would have left LPN positions vacant. If you are working medicine or surgery in any of the area hospitals you know that there are shifts when there are more LPNs on the floor than RNs. There aren't enough LPNs to fill the vacancies for LPN positions.

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Hi there!! I was one of the RNs here in the Philippines hired by Capital Health just recently as an LPN. We were given the employment just last week.. It says in my contract that I'll be paid 17.91 per hour and will be working in the University of Alberta Hospital, Northern Alberta Renal Program as an LPN. Im just concerned about what Im reading here in the posts.. Hope you could help me.

They said that after being an LPN we'll be GNs and then eventually after passing CRNE be RNs.

Thanks alot for your help.:)

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

You won't be a GN until you have successfully upgraded your education. They've hired all of you as LPNs because your BSN from the Philippines is only equivalent to an LPN diploma in Alberta. BUT... before you can work as an LPN you will have to write and pass the CLPNE. And $17.91 an hour in a job that won't have many evening, night or weekend hours with the associated shift differentials isn't a lot of money in this economy. (Natural gas is expected to cost nearly $13 a gJ in August, rents are at least $1000 a month and gas is $1.27 a litre causing prices of everything to climb.) In order to become an RN, you will have to take university courses here to upgrade your education to Alberta standards, at which time they will consider you a GN. You will have a certain amount of time after that to write and pass your CRNE. If you aren't successful you will have to revert to LPN until you do.

The foreign recruitment program was sold to the people of Alberta as a measure to increase RNs in the province. Very few people know that what it has done is created a huge new issue of training the recruits to meet the standards of the province. Who will pay for all of this?

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Evenings add $1.75/hr to the wage, Weekends add another $1.75/hr. That's under the contract that ended in March of this year.

If Safrafrancesca is working in the Renal Programe, that means dialysis training and certification which will add a whopping 0.60/hr to the base rate.

Depending if the contract is ratified or not there will be a minimum of a 15% increase and premiums increase next year (that's lousy) and the dialysis, OR, and ortho techs will get an increase in the certification rate.

So basically they increased the number of LPNs around but haven't come up with any decent plans for admitting them to RN upgrading other than welcome to year two of a four year degree.

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You won't be a GN until you have successfully upgraded your education. They've hired all of you as LPNs because your BSN from the Philippines is only equivalent to an LPN diploma in Alberta. BUT... before you can work as an LPN you will have to write and pass the CLPNE. And $17.91 an hour in a job that won't have many evening, night or weekend hours with the associated shift differentials isn't a lot of money in this economy. (Natural gas is expected to cost nearly $13 a gJ in August, rents are at least $1000 a month and gas is $1.27 a litre causing prices of everything to climb.) In order to become an RN, you will have to take university courses here to upgrade your education to Alberta standards, at which time they will consider you a GN. You will have a certain amount of time after that to write and pass your CRNE. If you aren't successful you will have to revert to LPN until you do.

The foreign recruitment program was sold to the people of Alberta as a measure to increase RNs in the province. Very few people know that what it has done is created a huge new issue of training the recruits to meet the standards of the province. Who will pay for all of this?

I am curious why Alberta only views a BSN from the Philippines at the LPN level? In the US a BSN from the Philippines is still considered a BSN. I think that is true for BC also. However, I think it is great that Alberta has such a high standard. I met a girl in BC that was trained in Alberta and it does seem her training was superior to the LPN program in BC or the US for that matter since that is where I was educated (although I am Canadian). But I went on to get my RN and am now working on my BSN while working as an RN.

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Basically, CLPNA, CARNA, and Capital Health went overseas looked at a lot of schools and found that many of the BScN courses had more in common with the PN education than the RN. I've seen a few of the recruits at work and their clinical skills are weak despite having a "adapting to Canadian practice" course at Norquest.

I've worked in AB and BC and can say that from what I saw some of the PN schools in BC seem to have taught the bare minimum to get through CPNRE. There also was a different mindset in the utilization of LPNs there. In Alberta, I was always seen as a valued nurse with good skills, in BC my scope of practice was limited and many of the areas that LPNs work in Alberta were deemed to be "RN only".

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Basically, CLPNA, CARNA, and Capital Health went overseas looked at a lot of schools and found that many of the BScN courses had more in common with the PN education than the RN. I've seen a few of the recruits at work and their clinical skills are weak despite having a "adapting to Canadian practice" course at Norquest.

I've worked in AB and BC and can say that from what I saw some of the PN schools in BC seem to have taught the bare minimum to get through CPNRE. There also was a different mindset in the utilization of LPNs there. In Alberta, I was always seen as a valued nurse with good skills, in BC my scope of practice was limited and many of the areas that LPNs work in Alberta were deemed to be "RN only".

Thanks Fiona59,

I think more colleges of nursing should do the same. In the US there is retrogression but there is a lot of fear due to the many schools that have been popping up in the Philippines and the limited clinical exposure of students with more than one student sharing the care of a patient that the skills are not as they were formerly. Previously the Philippines was highly regarded for skills but I have read that has changed of late. You are right about BC. I worked as an LPN in BC between semesters before I continued with my RN and the RN's seemed to be very against the utilization of LPN's and resented that they were expected to take care of the more complex patients while the LPN's would be caring for the more stable patients. ALmost like they felt they did their dues and resented the use of the LPN's. My husband was a patient during this time and his nurse (an RN) was highly critical of LPN's (little did she know my husband's wife (me) was an LPN at the time). I see value in both having seen things from both sides...but it seems Alberta is more efficient in how they look at patient care while at the same time maintaining a very high standard. But definitely it seems LPN's in Alberta even though they are more highly skilled are underpaid.

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from what i understood from the 2 norquest reps who came to the philippines, the present LPN program in Alberta is the old RN program they had, hence the BSN program in the Philippines though accepted in the US and other Canadian provinces for Rn licensing is not accepted in Alberta. i have nothing but praise for the level of care and professionalism the lpns in alberta must have. others should do the same.

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Thanks a lot Fiona! I am Renal Nurse Certified here in the Philippines that's why they have decided to employ me at the Renal Program. Apparently I wasn't aware that Alberta wouldn't consider us as RN without having a Canadian degree which means I have to still study for how many more years?.

I have a friend in Saskatchewan and he's an instant GN. I guess Saskatchewan and Alberta have different standards.

Fiona are you working at Capital Health?

Thanks a lot guys for the infos.

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Specializes in EENT, Radiology, Neuroscience.

Hey sara, I wrote you a private message, check it out at your MyAccount. Just like you I was hired by the Capital Health when they decided to hire Filipino nurses to work in their province

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Specializes in Oncology, Medical.
I am curious why Alberta only views a BSN from the Philippines at the LPN level? In the US a BSN from the Philippines is still considered a BSN. I think that is true for BC also. However, I think it is great that Alberta has such a high standard. I met a girl in BC that was trained in Alberta and it does seem her training was superior to the LPN program in BC or the US for that matter since that is where I was educated (although I am Canadian). But I went on to get my RN and am now working on my BSN while working as an RN.

Does this apply to all BSN graduates from Philippines who wish to be licensed at Alberta? Do all of them end up working as LPNs rather than GN or RN?

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My post stated that some schools do not meet the educational requirements of this province. It is up to YOU to apply for a license to work here, have YOUR education evaluated and for YOU to comply with the decision reached.

Working as a LPN in this province isn't the humiliation you seem to read into it. We are highly skilled and educated. It may be a different education from a university trained nurse, but if you were on the floor in any acute care hospital in this province unless you needed a bag of TPN or blood started you have no idea of which grade of nurse is caring for you unless you look at the name tag.

The problem here is the wage disparity and quite honestly, many feel that the gap is closing and that UNA will have a hard time getting a raise in their next round of baragaining as they have almost priced themselves out of the market. They are up for a new contract next year, if I recall right, and they could be facing a few problems.

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