Canadian RN seeking US Recruitment Agency

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 13, 2017

I can't speak for recruiting agencies, but since you are a foreign grad, I will tell you this:

California's Board of Nursing (BRN) has strict standards regarding the educational requirements for nurses that they license. The fact that you have a license in Canada--or even if you had one in any other US state--doesn't mean that California will rubber-stamp your application and license you without question. If your nursing education does not meet BRN standards, you're not getting licensed...and they don't budge on it. Nor can the agency get around it if the BRN tells you No.

It's usually foreign grads that get tripped up by the requirements...but if you search the forums, you'll find lots of threads from both foreign AND US nurses lamenting that CA wouldn't license them.

A lot of foreign grads do get licensed though, so it's not as though you are doomed. Odds are somewhat in your favor.

But while you're looking at recruiting agencies, you should also look at the BRN educational requirements, so you can see if you are deficient in any areas and if so, correct them. Start here:

http://www.rn.ca.gov/pdfs/education/edp-i-35.pdf

Hopefully someone else will come along with info about recruiters. But don't ignore what I wrote, because if you can't get a CA license, then it's pretty much game over before you begin.

Best of luck.