Is it possible to work in Canada with US license?

healthdesk · Aug 26, 2011

A simple answer is NO you cannot. Canada and the US are two different countries, Canada is not a US state and likewise the US is not a Canadian province.

By the way, there are no BOARDS OF NURSING here, they are referred to as "colleges" and each Canadian province has one.

The Canadian counterpart of the NCLEX is called the CRNE.

Only exception that I know is if you have written and passed the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE) before 1982, then you can be exempted from writing the CRNE. Other than that, you have to register and pass CRNE to become an RN in Canada.

One more thing, there are numerous discussions posted in allnurses regarding this topic I suggest you check those and do some reading of your own

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Aug 26, 2011

Please start by reading the stickies at the top of the Canadian forum home page. There's a lot of information there that will help you out. You should also look in the International forum for more threads on how to make the move to Canadian nursing.

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2011

Entry to practise in Ontario for RNs is BScN.

And as others have said, no matter what province you want to work in, you will have to pass the licensing test for RNs in that province.

Good Luck

itsmejuli · Aug 30, 2011

I was a PN educated and licensed in Florida.

When I moved back to Alberta I had to apply to the college of nursing. They reviewed my education, license and experience. I then had to write the Canadian PN exam.

So you need to decide which province you wish to live in, then get immigration out of the way and then apply for your Canadian license in the province in which you decide to live.