Assessment of An Internationally Trained RN's Education

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Hello Everyone,

I would like to ask if anyone ever encountered any problems having their foreign educational credentials assessed.

My husband is a new BSN graduate, registered nurse from the Philippines and is hoping to find work in Ontario as a RN. Did you ever hear of a case where someone applied as a RN but was assessed to be the equivalent of a RPN? What are the reasons for this and how can this be remedied? Could a decision like this be appealed? What could be done to stregthen his credentials?

Your inputs on this matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

NCLEX is for working in the US only.

thanks suzzane4!

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this is somewhat related to the topic...i'm a philippine-graduate nurse (the 4-yr course), presently working in the UK for 3 years now...the need for english proficiency exams, does it apply to all applicants with english as their 2nd language irregardless of where they are coming from at the time of application..? and the need for a reference from previous employers, is it a must before one is allowed to sit the exam? and where else in the world can i take the canadian state board? is it possible (has it ever happened...)for hospitals to accept (or decline) applicants before the exam is taken..? i'm so sorry if these questions sound really daft...

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hello guys!i am from the philippines and migrating to alberta this year and i just pass the nursing board exam last december 2006.my problem is i dont have the enough hospital experience of at least 1125 hours which the CARNA requires.can i be still qualified to register?thanks a lot.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
hello guys!i am from the philippines and migrating to alberta this year and i just pass the nursing board exam last december 2006.my problem is i dont have the enough hospital experience of at least 1125 hours which the CARNA requires.can i be still qualified to register?thanks a lot.

Are you a new-ish grad then? If you are, the 1125 hours over the past five years is not going to apply. They've set "1125 hours over five years" as a benchmark below which a nurse could not be expected to maintain skills and knowledge base. That translates to 30 hours per month per year. If you've only actually been registered as a nurse for five MONTHS then you'd be included in the "or" part of this:

c) Currency of Nursing Practice

Applicants must provide evidence satisfactory to the Registrar, of within the five (5) previous

membership years:

a) 1125 hours of registered nursing practice; or

b) successful completion of a degree or a nursing program satisfactory to the Registrar; or

c) successful completion of a nursing refresher program satisfactory to the CARNA Provincial

Council.

Does that make sense?

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Are you a new-ish grad then? If you are, the 1125 hours over the past five years is not going to apply. They've set "1125 hours over five years" as a benchmark below which a nurse could not be expected to maintain skills and knowledge base. That translates to 30 hours per month per year. If you've only actually been registered as a nurse for five MONTHS then you'd be included in the "or" part of this:

c) Currency of Nursing Practice

Applicants must provide evidence satisfactory to the Registrar, of within the five (5) previous

membership years:

a) 1125 hours of registered nursing practice; or

b) successful completion of a degree or a nursing program satisfactory to the Registrar; or

c) successful completion of a nursing refresher program satisfactory to the CARNA Provincial

Council.

Does that make sense?

mam i have a follow up question regarding the completion of a nursing refresher program there in calgary,do i still need to take it?thanks a lot again mam.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

No, not if you're a brand new nurse. Why would you need a refresher? It should all still be fresh. Why don't you contact CARNA (http://www.nurses.ab.ca) and ask them for their opinion? They're going to have to validate your credentials anyway and they can tell you far more about how they think than I can.

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this is somewhat related to the topic...i'm a philippine-graduate nurse (the 4-yr course), presently working in the UK for 3 years now...the need for english proficiency exams, does it apply to all applicants with english as their 2nd language irregardless of where they are coming from at the time of application..? and the need for a reference from previous employers, is it a must before one is allowed to sit the exam? and where else in the world can i take the canadian state board? is it possible (has it ever happened...)for hospitals to accept (or decline) applicants before the exam is taken..? i'm so sorry if these questions sound really daft...

Language requirements are usually based on where you attended school, not where you have been working. And the Canadian exams are only given in Canada and that is after you have been given permission to sit for the exam. So that means that references must be submitted first. The licensing exam is the final step in the licensing process and all other requirements need to be met first.

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Language requirements are usually based on where you attended school, not where you have been working. And the Canadian exams are only given in Canada and that is after you have been given permission to sit for the exam. So that means that references must be submitted first. The licensing exam is the final step in the licensing process and all other requirements need to be met first.

Just to clarify that in some instances international nurses can take the CRNE prior to submitting references in AB.

The refereces must be from an employer in Canada or he US, they do not accep references from any other country.

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Just to clarify that in some instances international nurses can take the CRNE prior to submitting references in AB.

The refereces must be from an employer in Canada or he US, they do not accep references from any other country.

That is not true in BC. US employers are not accepted for the reference. I applied to become registered in BC but they insist that the reference absolutely must be from a Canadian employer as an RN. They have a system where you do a minimum 250 hour supervised practice experience in order to get that reference taken care of. The exam can be written prior to the reference but your registration can't be completed prior to the reference. You have two years from when you apply to satisfy all the registration requirements. But this is for BC only. Each province will have their own requirements. BC stated when I applied in April 2006 that they evaluate educational credentials on a case by case basis but they were leaning towards a BSN requirement...although if you study nursing in BC the BSN is the only degree available since 2003.

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if i am not mistaken i think BC now requires a 4 year course in nursing rather than the 2 year second courser graduates.kalayaan - - we are still here in the Philippines. supposedly we were to leave last august, but due to some personal matters we must attend to first we decided for a later date, early next year. assessment only takes a few months. I submitted mine last april, now all i have to do is to fill up the form for application for temporary permit then i can practice as a RN under temporary permit. my husband is actually the principal applicant, he submitted his papers way ahead of me, it is much easier to look for an employer once you have applied for registration already and with hospital experience of course to back you up. immigration application only takes maximum of four months.goodluck!

BC has not officially stated they accept BSN degree only but if you study nursing in BC the BSN is the only degree that is offered since 2003.

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