International Educated Nurse

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My name is pasha and I'm International Educated nurse , a registered nurse with a bachelor's degree in nursing. I studied for four years, including working experience at the country's largest hospital.

I'm starting a process in front of NNAS for apply RN in Canada.

Me and my family are planning to immigrate to Alberta , by the time I will pass the NCLEX test .

My question is - can I work as As a Health Care Aide ? Or I should go through a special aid course HCA course from a Government of Alberta ?

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Specializes in Respiratory.

Hi Pasha,

I am also interested in knowing your further development. Please kindly share or PM me your progress in Alberta or Canada.

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It is better to stay in your home country and complete as many of the registration steps as possible before immigrating to Alberta or any place else in Canada. If you arrive before you know the many barriers you may face, you may end up underemployed, unqualified and unable to afford to complete all of the requirements to become a Canadian RN.

Your nnas report may show that your education is not comparable or somewhat comparable to a Canadian's. If so, CARNA may require you to undergo a competency assessment such as ARNAP. After which you may be required to undergo a bridge to Canadian nursing program. Each of these steps may cost thousands of dollars and may take years to complete.

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Pasha, I agree with @dishes 100%. Please take this advice.

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Talking from a third world country perspective, I think that our education is really not comparable to their standard and even my friend who graduated from a certain oldest reputable University in Asia was made to take a bridging program which is costly and has a long waiting list.My friend is currently working as a caregiver to elderly people in their homes in Canada and making a decent living. Work in Canada and save the money for your bridging program.Then pass your NCLEX after.

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There are many IENs who came to Canada and worked as caregivers for elderly or disabled people, unfortunately they didn''t all end up becoming RNS because the caregiver pay is usually not enough to make a 'decent' living in Canada. Attending a full time bridging program while working full time as a caregiver is often not feasible or affordable. The difficulties IENs face in Canada have been published in media reports and in research articles. If you use google scholar you can find several articles, one of the articles titled "The downward occupational mobility of internationally educated nurses to domestic workers" by B. Salami is a sobering read.

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What's the process of working in Canada as an aide? I'm transferring my license right now but I'm not eligible yet for express entry as I don't have a job offer.

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What's the process of working in Canada as an aide? I'm transferring my license right now but I'm not eligible yet for express entry as I don't have a job offer.

Are you trying to come to Canada through the live-in caregiver program?

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