Humber PN or Ryerson RN?

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Hi I'm an international student living in Toronto, Canada and currently a high school student. I've received a conditional offer for nursing from both Humber college and Ryerson university. The offer from Humber is for PN 2-year program and Ryerson, of course, is for 4-year RN program. I've seriously considering both sides (college and uni) over 1 year, but I've not made a decision on where to go. It's almost end of April and now I really have to choose one of them.. To be honest, I've been strongly attracted by advantages of starting PN first (experience, cheaper tuition fee, short length,,), but I heard that there are some strict requirements such as good GPA and no any failed/repeated courses during PN program to be eligible for bridging RPN to RN program later. When I first got to know about this, I was very shocked, I understand though because I've also heard it is highly competitive.

I know that wherever I choose to go, I would have to work hard but I'm just worried what if I would not retain satisfactory GPA or even fail any course at college. What happens in that case? I guess upgrading is not possible then because it says "no repeated courses", right?

My goal is to be a RN anyway, so I'm pretty sure that I will pursue the bridging program if I get into Humber. Unfortunately cuz I'm neither a permanent resident nor citizen here, I have lots of restrictions.. like visa issue and financial concerns

Could you guys give any advice for me plz!

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Which education will allow you to return to and work in your home country?

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I want to stay here as a nurse, and I'll need to be a permanent resident at least in the future through immigration to live in Canada of course. IF I fail to immigrate or have to go back to my home country for other reason, from what I've heard, the university education would be more helpful than the college education in all aspects..

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The nursing job market is in a surplus cycle and new grads who are legally qualified to work are having a tough time getting hired, a non-resident, international student on a visa will have an even tougher time.

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I heard that there has been always too many RPN who graduate from college and try to get a job, but RNs' situation is better somewhat. Is the current situation not that good for both RPNs and RNs?

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I want to stay here as a nurse, and I'll need to be a permanent resident at least in the future through immigration to live in Canada of course. IF I fail to immigrate or have to go back to my home country for other reason, from what I've heard, the university education would be more helpful than the college education in all aspects..

If you are an international student, first and foremost look at job options and research immigration early because you need to get hired in a full time job relatively soon after graduation to save some time and also apply for immigration sooner. This is mostly for international students but I have heard better news regarding immigration from international student who did their rn compared to rpn, partly because of how tough Ontario PNP immigration has become and also because of the current job market. (I have seen some international student rpns unable to get immigration in the past few yrs due to not being able to find full time jobs easily and because of the early closure of Ontarion PNP last yr) If your ultimate goal is to become an RN, it will be such a time saver to get it over with in one go. Immigration takes a long time and you have to work and take care of your status and that may add up to 3/4 yrs post finishing the nursing program.

also here is the last advice. I don't know where you are from but not that many countries accept Canadian RPN education when you want to transfer your license over there (in case you fail to immigrate and have to go back). Going for RN is a better back up plan for going to other countries as well in case Canada does not work out

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I heard that there has been always too many RPN who graduate from college and try to get a job, but RNs' situation is better somewhat. Is the current situation not that good for both RPNs and RNs?

The current situation is a surplus of both RNs and RPNs.

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I agree with companisbiki about looking at job options and immigration, also suggest you look at nursing schools and jobs in other provinces, as the nursing job market is influenced by provincial economic and political factors, for example Ontario has a large provincial deficit compared to Saskatchewan (see the provincial debt clocks). Some provinces are in better financial positions to be able to support increasing healthcare employment spending and some are in financial situations to maintain or decrease healthcare employment spending.

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Get an RN... it will open your doors. Just because you have a BSN doesn't mean you have to practice bedside nursing... there are plenty of other options such as research, government, etc. In fact, I am currently in the process of applying for jobs (I don't have a BSN degree yet so it's for my other degree) and I notice that many of the health-science jobs that I am looking at say "A bachelor's degree in science or social science" or "a bachelor's degree in a health-related field". With a BSN, you will also be able to apply to these jobs in addition to clinical nursing! So, in my opinion, I would definitely go for the RN.

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Specializes in Psych.

Ryerson Grad here, I've talked to numerous highschoolers who are debating between PN and RN programs.

I always say... if you are not too restricted (financially and timely), Opt for the 4-yr RN program. it is worth it (for many reasons):

1. Do the studying while your brain is still young.. trust me each year makes a ton of a difference

2. RPN to RN: bridging programs can be long.. 3 years or even 4 if you take it part time

3. the PAY. there is a big difference in pay. i dont know exactly how much.. around $10 diff

4. the RN degree will open doors! masters, administration, and lots of others!

5. Job Market: the job market fluctuates, every province will have their own cycles of mass hires and no hires. I started my program when everyone was getting jobs out of the 4yr program but by the time I graduated, the positions were scarce. I ended up going to a different province where the hire freeze had just ended and government funds were opening.

immigration laws and ways to obtain a PR will always change; it is most likely that the regulations at present will not be same by the time you graduate and start the process of obtaining a PR. If i were you I would focus on edu now and find ways for immigration later on :)

all the best !

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