any filipino nurse working in canada?

hope_nurse · Oct 15, 2007

really? im planning to work also in CANADA?

is it really true that there's a need to undergo CARNA assessment?

AussieKylie · Oct 16, 2007

Hi

I am not Filipino but all International Educated Nurses are required to do the CARNA assessment. Its unfortunate but that is the way they do it here.

mt_66 · Nov 27, 2007

hi! what's carna assessment? how do you go about it , i mean for your documents to be assessed?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Nov 27, 2007

hi! what's carna assessment? how do you go about it , i mean for your documents to be assessed?

which province are you planning on living? you will be able to find out what you as a foreign nurse is required to do on their website

mt_66 · Nov 28, 2007

which province are you planning on living? you will be able to find out what you as a foreign nurse is required to do on their website

me & my family have just submitted our updated documents and is yet waiting for any further advise regarding our immigrant visa application, we plan to settle at british columbia. is it allowed to have my credentials assessed even when my visa application is yet on process?

thank you very much for your reply!

Silverdragon102, BSN · Nov 28, 2007

me & my family have just submitted our updated documents and is yet waiting for any further advise regarding our immigrant visa application, we plan to settle at british columbia. is it allowed to have my credentials assessed even when my visa application is yet on process?
thank you very much for your reply!

i can not see any reason why you can not get your credentials assessed, probably much quicker to do so whilst waiting. sure someone will be along to correct me if i am wrong

BagwisRN · Nov 28, 2007

I have ongoing green card processing for US--PD Mar 2006. I know I know... there's a lot of people ahead of me. And with the Retrogression and all....it's gonna take another 2-3 yrs. That's why I took the opportunity when Capital health of Edmonton, Alberta came over here in the Phil just this November. They hired hundreds of special area nurses. I'm sure a lot of them are just pissed off the way US immigration are turning for the worse. Ive been hired as Cardio ICU nurse at University of Alberta (their biggest hospital).------the thing is, they plan to take us all there ASAP (meaning Feb-Mar next yr) as Nurse Auxillary then take CARNA within the next 5 mos and be an RN. I've heard other companies make the Philippine RNs take the CRNE 1st then go there work as a Grad Nurse then take CARNA to be RN. Which is better? Plus the Nurse aux pay is so meager at half the pay of the regular RN! I dn't think I could live on $14 a month and expect my family to follow within the next 6mos as they promised? At my expense of course. The contract is 2yrs...and they say Icould go back to the Philippines even if the contract isn't over yet.. no hassle. Like when my PD comes up for the US and I'm to be interviewed by US consul back home. Sounds to good right? That's what i thought too. But if it does hold true... then I just found a good way to kill time while I wait for my US visa. Plus, if I like it there even better... then I might just trade Canada in place of US and migrate there. They don't want us anyway right? What do you guys think?

Fiona59 · Nov 28, 2007

I have ongoing green card processing for US--PD Mar 2006. I know I know... there's a lot of people ahead of me. And with the Retrogression and all....it's gonna take another 2-3 yrs. That's why I took the opportunity when Capital health of Edmonton, Alberta came over here in the Phil just this November. They hired hundreds of special area nurses. I'm sure a lot of them are just pissed off the way US immigration are turning for the worse. Ive been hired as Cardio ICU nurse at University of Alberta (their biggest hospital).------the thing is, they plan to take us all there ASAP (meaning Feb-Mar next yr) as Nurse Auxillary then take CARNA within the next 5 mos and be an RN. I've heard other companies make the Philippine RNs take the CRNE 1st then go there work as a Grad Nurse then take CARNA to be RN. Which is better? Plus the Nurse aux pay is so meager at half the pay of the regular RN! I dn't think I could live on $14 a month and expect my family to follow within the next 6mos as they promised? At my expense of course. The contract is 2yrs...and they say Icould go back to the Philippines even if the contract isn't over yet.. no hassle. Like when my PD comes up for the US and I'm to be interviewed by US consul back home. Sounds to good right? That's what i thought too. But if it does hold true... then I just found a good way to kill time while I wait for my US visa. Plus, if I like it there even better... then I might just trade Canada in place of US and migrate there. They don't want us anyway right? What do you guys think?

For what its worth, Capital Health management reads this forum. So do a lot of your future co-workers and no we are NOT impressed with this initiative.

There are a couple of things you need to know, Nursing Auxilliaries do not exist. You will be hired as nurses aides. Yes, they make less than RNs and LPNs but their only responsiblities are bedmaking, bathing, ambulating and feeding the patients. No meds, no treatments, no wound care, virtually none of the responsiblity or stress of a nurse.

Many here know that this batch of nurses are planning on using their hire as an stepping stone into the US and are not happy with it.

And in all honesty, why should Capital Health pay for your family's immigration costs? We are nearly all immigrants here and we all had to pay our own way here. Hell, my family had to repay our immigration costs. I can see refunding the nurses way.

To put it plainly, with the way you are talking here on these forums, I wouldn't be surprized if a few of you lost your sponsorship.

You are not seen as saviours of our health system, merely a prop to help hold up the wall. It's the same opinion held towards the New Zealanders and Australians who are also coming at the same time.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Nov 28, 2007

BagwisRN, CARNA is the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta, the regulatory and licensing body for nurses in Alberta. They do not have a separate exam; the only exam required for a Canadian license in any province is the CRNE = the Canadian Registered Nurses Exam. Some health regions will not employ nurses in any capacity until they have taken the CRNE (which is only written 3 times a year, February, June and October, and applications must be in with payment included 3 months before the desired date of writing) and are waiting for their results. When they've written the exam, they are then employed in the capacity of a grad nurse and paid accordingly until their results are available. Capital Health has chosen to do something different. They are importing potential nurses before their knowledge base and skills have been assessed. But according to the Health Professions Act, they can't employ people without proper credentials, so that is why they're paying people to work as nursing attendants while they wait to write their exams. It also depends somewhat upon where the person is coming from. Certain countries have virtually identical nursing education programs while others are very different and require a detailed assessment; that is taken into consideration when deciding which category to classify a person under. As for income, a nursing attendant is paid about $14 an hour here, plus shift differential and other benefits. This works out to about $30,000 a year. Unfortunately in this economy that isn't enough to live on unless you have a couple of room mates to share expenses with.

I have to say that I find the notion of using a Canadian nursing license as a stepping stone to a green card and employment in the US to be somewhat offensive. Sadly it's a recurring theme. Our provincial governments are shelling out millions of our tax dollars in recruitment expenses to import people who have no intention of staying here once they get here. Manitoba was caught in this situation in 2000; within a year, 60% of the nurses they imported were south of the border. So I have trouble justifying Alberta's following the same path in 2007. I also have difficulty supporting the poaching of health care professionals from poorer countries, which leaves the citizens of that country without access to care. Yes, we need more nurses, but not at the expense of someone else.

suzanne4, RN · Nov 28, 2007

A few other things to add in to this:

Canadian residency does not get anyone into the US any faster, only those that actually have Canadian passports and are citizens of that country can get the Nafta TN Visa to expedite working in the US.

Next, if you walk from a contract from an agency that is placing you in the US, you are going to get hit with a hefty cancellation fee. If you started the process 18 months ago, I am sure that fees have been paid as well as attorney fees, plus the time that they invested in you. Expect it to be anywhere from about $8000 and up to $20,000 depending on the contract. And that fee will need to be paid before you will ever be permitted to work in the US later on, as it will get added to your file.

And as others have mentioned above, there is no such thing as an auxillary nurse, you will be working as a nursing asst and nothing more and getting paid about 25% of what the RN makes there. But your living expenses are not any different depending on the category that you will be paid under.

There have already been several threads here about Filipinos complaining about being taken advantage of in these so called programs.

Exams are only three times a year and a license is not issued the next day. If you do not pass the exam, you will have other issues to deal with.

Suggest that you really think about what you are going to do, there are no shortcuts, just things that will turn and bite you on the backside and with teeth that will follow you for sometime.

mctina_20 · Nov 30, 2007

BAGWIS - something is fishy with your contract. Nurses from the Philippines can work as nurses here in Canada which include Alberta without taking the CRNE first under the Interim Permit. We came here all the way from the Philippines directly hired by NORTHERN HEALTH of BC and they shouldered all of our moving expenses including hotel and 1 month rent for the apartment. And we work as Nurses not anything else and the rate is based on BCNU agreement.

If that is how they will treat you in ALBERTA then forget it - there are lots of opportunities awaiting here in British Columbia. Just google health authorities of BC and start posting your resume on every position you are interested in.