Frustrating CNO process for IENs

[kakeru]

I'm an internationally educated nurse and have had extensive experience in nursing from my homeland and internationally. I'm on the process of assessment in CNO for RN registration. I'm also a new immigrant in Canada looking for a better future for my family and aiming for career advancement. However, ironically, CNO might have mislead me into a chaotic process of registration.

I was assessed to undergo OSCE through CEPHEA to determine if I have gaps in nursing practice. I am resigned that I will definitely have identified gaps especially in regards to Canada's nursing practice which I'm not quite familiar with. However, what ****** me off is that CNO seems to have no idea on how to help the IENs fill in the gaps. Imagine a friend of mine who recently been assessed with 3 gaps among the many criteria and after which was lost what to to next. She was given a list of colleges and universities to inquire from and guess what?? The were no particular pathway or courses available to specifically fill in the gaps. There is however, a bridging program at York university which takes 20 months to finish and accepts only 50 candidates per school year. Talk about the backlog of IENs who wanted to get in! it's hundreds or probably thousands! Other colleges offer courses too by the way, then you need to push through university. So in total that will take you three years to finish.

I understand that Canadian nursing system is different and I am most willing to conform with what is needed. However, it's really insulting to IEN's to pay for an OSCE assessment then be left without a clear tract of what's going to happen if we fail. No offense but I've worked for 15 years internationally and I don't think that I have to study for 20 months more so 3 long years to be an RN in Canada. Nursing is nursing regardless of where we came from. It's basically caring with few tweaks of technical differences from place to place. And personally, I think, it should not take 20 months or more to learn and conform with the differences. So frustrating!!!

[RN_Pro]

The staff at NNAS who assess international nursing education against Canadian curriculum are not registered nurses. And, most of them are Americans.

[ann_pheba, BSN, MSN, RN, CNM]

Hi Nurses out there from Canada ,

I would like to know ...to be a nurse educator in canada what are the requirements is it the same way of registration as a normal RN or do i have to go for any programs to be a educator ...I have done my BSc Nursing 4 yrs from India and took MBA from Uk ...I am planning to migrate to Canada....so Please give me some insight on how to go about with my Nursing qualification in canada

[dayandnight]

Hi Nurses out there from Canada ,

I would like to know ...to be a nurse educator in canada what are the requirements is it the same way of registration as a normal RN or do i have to go for any programs to be a educator ...I have done my BSc Nursing 4 yrs from India and took MBA from Uk ...I am planning to migrate to Canada....so Please give me some insight on how to go about with my Nursing qualification in canada

To be a nurse educator you need experience in the unit you want to work in and build connections and experience first before applying. I don't think having a master's is a requirement and if they do they will not consider your MBA degree.

Your major challenge is immigration and also getting the actual RN license. Both are tedious lengthy processes as even getting the RN license takes about 3 years approximately. If you start looking into immigration now that might help things a lot as well

[RN_Pro]

Hi Nurses out there from Canada ,

I would like to know ...to be a nurse educator in canada what are the requirements is it the same way of registration as a normal RN or do i have to go for any programs to be a educator ...

I agree with what @companisbiki said. You will have enough trouble as it is just getting a license in Canada so first you must decide how badly you really want this--how badly you want to move to Canada. You'll want to be prepared for the fact that you might have to go back to school before you can get your license. There are nurses with recent USA nursing degrees that have been deemed "non-comparable" to Canadian-trained nurses and they are going through a lot to try to get their license. So I imagine it will be the same for you, if not harder. If you do get your license (which could take 1.5 or more years), you will have to gain years of nursing experience before you can have the resume necessary to be considered for a nurse educator role. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. Don't do as others have and move your whole life here without knowing whether or not you will be able to work in your profession. As a Canadian, I love welcoming people here, but not if their lives are going to be made more difficult by the move and it becomes a stressful, negative experience.

[ann_pheba, BSN, MSN, RN, CNM]

@Companisbiki thanks a bunch for your valuable time .....yes I started with my express entry (immigration process) hopefully by end of this year I can get thru tat process..I never knew rn license process takes such a long time..i though it will hardly takes 1yr including NNAS assessment ...thank u for ur information ...I wanted to know another thing ,Is it my hospital experience sufficient for RN if am applyg as a educator or shd i work as a educator also to get rn ...if so ..how many years experience required??i have searchd in many websites regarding experience but none says about the length of experience required for rn processg...thanks in advance....and its so nyc of you in taking your time and clarify sumone else doubt ....:)

[ann_pheba, BSN, MSN, RN, CNM]

I agree with what @companisbiki said. You will have enough trouble as it is just getting a license in Canada so first you must decide how badly you really want this--how badly you want to move to Canada. You'll want to be prepared for the fact that you might have to go back to school before you can get your license. There are nurses with recent USA nursing degrees that have been deemed "non-comparable" to Canadian-trained nurses and they are going through a lot to try to get their license. So I imagine it will be the same for you, if not harder. If you do get your license (which could take 1.5 or more years), you will have to gain years of nursing experience before you can have the resume necessary to be considered for a nurse educator role. It is unfortunate, but it is the truth. Don't do as others have and move your whole life here without knowing whether or not you will be able to work in your profession. As a Canadian, I love welcoming people here, but not if their lives are going to be made more difficult by the move and it becomes a stressful, negative experience.

yes its so true what u said ...thanks for the info and suggestion..i luv teaching ..but as u said since it need experience probably not a gud option to go for another few years ...I am researchg on my rn processing part ..

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Most if not all hospitals are unionized so to be honest jobs will go internally before externally so hardest bit is going to be getting foot through the door which for most is starting casual and working way to full time

[dayandnight]

@Companisbiki thanks a bunch for your valuable time .....yes I started with my express entry (immigration process) hopefully by end of this year I can get thru tat process..I never knew rn license process takes such a long time..i though it will hardly takes 1yr including NNAS assessment ...thank u for ur information ...I wanted to know another thing ,Is it my hospital experience sufficient for RN if am applyg as a educator or shd i work as a educator also to get rn ...if so ..how many years experience required??i have searchd in many websites regarding experience but none says about the length of experience required for rn processg...thanks in advance....and its so nyc of you in taking your time and clarify sumone else doubt ....:)

The hospital prefer you to have the experience at their place or other Canadian hospitals probably. Canada is very "Canada-centered." Canadian experience and references are preferred. Plus you will not be competitive unless you get into the hospital first due to low seniority... which means that you will have to apply to a unit that is easier to get into prior to applying for an educator position. If you plan on working in Canada as a skilled worker you can't go to your goal directly. Tons of people take the long way around due to lack of Canadian experience and references. There is no short cut.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

Ontario is a bit of an outlier in Canada, in that there are a number of hospitals and facilities that aren't unionized, including the Hospital for Sick Children. But... HSC is a real stickler for formal, locally-obtained education. One problem that I see all the time is that emigrants want to "live in Toronto" and that's just not a realistic goal. Toronto is the city most likely to attract immigrants and is also one of the hardest places for new Canadian residents to find work and affordable housing. Vancouver is another magnet city, with similar complexities. Nurses wanting to emigrate to Canada really must do their research, pay attention to commentary on forums such as this one and if FAQs on the Colleges' websites don't answer specific issues, seek information from the College in question itself. I recommend adding at least half again the time one expects a process to take so as to avoid frustration and to add a similar amount in dollars to the expected costs.

[ann_pheba, BSN, MSN, RN, CNM]

The hospital prefer you to have the experience at their place or other Canadian hospitals probably. Canada is very "Canada-centered." Canadian experience and references are preferred. Plus you will not be competitive unless you get into the hospital first due to low seniority... which means that you will have to apply to a unit that is easier to get into prior to applying for an educator position. If you plan on working in Canada as a skilled worker you can't go to your goal directly. Tons of people take the long way around due to lack of Canadian experience and references. There is no short cut.

yes ...I got it ...what u said is good for sumone like me from outside Canada to learn about the culture of the country and people first,only after working in Canada hospital set up an educator cud transfer the knowledge based on situations to students.....so I better just take RN first and then after few years think about the educator part....:) once again thank you so much ...have a great day

Does anyone has any idea on using my MBA in hospital with my nursing ???

[ann_pheba, BSN, MSN, RN, CNM]

One problem that I see all the time is that emigrants want to "live in Toronto" and that's just not a realistic goal. Toronto is the city most likely to attract immigrants and is also one of the hardest places for new Canadian residents to find work and affordable housing. Vancouver is another magnet city, with similar complexities. Nurses wanting to emigrate to Canada really must do their research, pay attention to commentary on forums such as this one .

so which is the province u would suggest immigrant (am one of them tryg to immigrate to Canada) to go for ...i mean cheap housing and more opportunities???

[RN_Pro]

...:) once again thank you so much ...have a great day

Does anyone has any idea on using my MBA in hospital with my nursing ???

Most nurse managers and chiefs of nursing have MBA's. But again, you would need years and years of experience on the floor--on many floors, to even be considered. If you have never worked on the floor and haven't "put in your time" in that health system, it will be almost impossible to gain the respect of staff that would be needed to be an effective leader.