A year ago I moved from Australia to Canada (I'm a neonatal nurse for the past 10 years). Its taken 12 months for NNAS to assess my qualifications & paperwork and now the nurses board for the province I live in have determined that I need to complete a Competency Based Assessment before I can sit the N-Clex.
Its been about 8 years since I have sat any test and I'm getting rather anxious. Has anybody had to do a CBA? how did you find the process? Is there anything you could recommend for me to do?
I never understood why paeds and maternity are required of IENs. Currently, in Ontario anyway, one does not need either in order to obtain their nursing degree or license. Doesn't seem fair to expect that from IENs.
Hi Sarah
I was also trained inAustralia as an RN and have now applied to NNAS for registration in Canada BC. Studied 3 yrs for my Bachelors and worked for 6 yrs in an acute medical ward. How didyour course from uni come up as? Comparable, somewhat comparable or notcomparable?
From reading on the allnurses forum IEN nurses has had a problemwith course work as they didn't do paeds + maternity at uni. Were you also a midwife in Australia to work in the neonatal ward that covered you for those areas of specialties for the NNAS report?
Do you now just have to give the Competency based assessment and thenNCLEX? No need to go to uni to study anymore?
Wishing you a very happy new year. Sorry for the late reply as I was in the waiting game. My NNAS report came back comparable but CRNBC has asked for NCAS. This is what CRNBC sent yesterday.
"You are required to complete a competency assessment because of a gap in your learning and practice history in relation to Child Health/Pediatric Nursing and Maternal Newborn Nursing*. All eligibile applicants who have a current application will be given one year to complete NCAS.* Applicants required to complete a competency assessment because of an experience gap in these areas may have the alternative option of completing coursework directly. Please contact CRNBC for more information."
So now I am unsure if NCAS will focus on things that I am incompetent in (maternal and pediatric nursing) or will be a generalized exam focused on testing my knowledge in comparison with newly graduated Canadian nurses.
And If I go to the direct route of course work without bothering about NCAS, I am not sure if Kwantlen or Thompson's university in BC can offer me just those courses and placements that I am short in. Planning to ring CRNBC regarding same. Just not sure yet with my set of questions and the right mind frame. Taking time to let everything sink in for clarity.
I didn't realize that nursing licensing bodies were asking people who got a "comparable" NNAS Advisory Report to take further coursework or take further assessments. I guess that is because NNAS is supposed to be only advisory in nature. If nursing bodies are in effect analyzing nursing educations after a comparable result, then I kind of wonder what NNAS does for them in terms of assessment or saving time/increasing efficiency of assessment if they aren't really using the result? Just seems like a bit of a waste but for those that are non-comparable, I'm certainly glad nursing licensing bodies are taking another look!
I'm still stuck on why maternal-child is required when it's not for Canadian educated. @dishes will know best so please prioritize her advice, but my guess is that the competency assessment, if it is an exam, will include many competencies and not just maternal-child. I can't imagine they have a standardized exam for each competency. But if it's a form you complete where you describe your experience or knowledge of maternal-child, maybe it's specific to that competency?
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
I'm still stuck on why maternal-child is required when it's not for Canadian educated. @dishes will know best so please prioritize her advice, but my guess is that the competency assessment, if it is an exam, will include many competencies and not just maternal-child. I can't imagine they have a standardized exam for each competency. But if it's a form you complete where you describe your experience or knowledge of maternal-child, maybe it's specific to that competency?
Nurses educated in Canada are required to have didactic and clinical education in both maternity/women's health and pediatrics. They're part of the curriculum. Competency assessments are objective structured clinical examinations and they are most definitely tailored to the specific areas the candidate is being assessed for. They aren't pen and paper exams or forms. The College wants to know whether a person whose educational preparation is not equivalent may have picked up enough knowledge and skill to meet minimum entry-to-practice competence in those areas.
Nurses educated in Canada are required to have didactic and clinical education in both maternity/women's health and pediatrics. They're part of the curriculum. Competency assessments are objective structured clinical examinations and they are most definitely tailored to the specific areas the candidate is being assessed for. They aren't pen and paper exams or forms. The College wants to know whether a person whose educational preparation is not equivalent may have picked up enough knowledge and skill to meet minimum entry-to-practice competence in those areas.
As I understand it, one course with a clinical placement. Many of us who are 'lacking' maternal-child according to licensing bodies have the same level of education in maternal-child health, or more, but it does not come through with the NNAS assessment.
I don't understand what you mean by OSCEs being tailored to the specific competencies the candidate is being tested for. When I do my IENCAP, I will be doing the same assessment as everyone else who is there, even though we are seen to be "lacking" in different competencies. I don't think Touchstone or any equivalent companies in other provinces tailor each exam to the candidate. It's just way to labour intensive. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
"May have picked up enough knowledge and skill"...many of us didn't pick it up, we studied it in four year nursing degree programs. Due to the way the NNAS assessment is designed as well as the fact that international syllabi weren't written with the NNAS assessment in mind, unfortunately NNAS often doesn't adequately "pick up" on our competencies.
RN_Pro
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I never understood why paeds and maternity are required of IENs. Currently, in Ontario anyway, one does not need either in order to obtain their nursing degree or license. Doesn't seem fair to expect that from IENs.