I am currently looking for any helpful information on how to transfer from nursing here in Montreal, Quebec to Alberta, more specifically, Edmonton. I am currently a French educated RN even though my spoken and written English is excellent. My fiance is relocating to Edmonton soon and I am joining him in a few months until I get everything taken care of. Also, the problem is, from what I've read, Quebec is the only province that will give me the title of RN without having gone to university to get my bachelor degree ( I have my college degree, or CEGEP if you prefer ). If I understood this properly, in Edmonton I will be a Licensed Practical Nurse instead ( LPN) which is the equivalent of an auxiliary nurse here in Montreal. Which means the income will pretty much be the same as what I'm making here in Quebec, with the same maximum after having done all the steps BUT my duties and responsibilities will not be the same and I will have less "independence" for lack of a better word. Not to mention that whereas I now work in a very important intensive care unit, auxiliary nurses cannot do so, and from what I can see, LPNs in other provinces can't either. Actually, I've noticed that a lot of departments are off limits...
This is adding a whole new level of stress to a situation that's already maxed out on it here. I would greatly appreciate any help on the procedures to start and especially any information on those provincial differences and as soon as possible would be even more appreciated seeing as how this is a very important life and career making decision for the both of us.
Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read this and answer :)
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.
From their official site, I can read: "1125 hours of RN practice within the past five years or successful completion of a degree or nursing program satisfactory to the Registrar or successful completion of a nursing refresher program satisfactory to CARNA Provincial Council" as one of the requirements. Now the number of hours is not a problem. BUT, the satisfactory degree might because that same site ALSO says: "As of Jan. 1, 2010, a baccalaureate degree in nursing will be the minimum educational requirement for initial registration as a registered nurse in Alberta."
This is where my confusion lies and I thought that specifying it might help you figure out whether it's founded or like I said, maybe just caused by the wording.
But I'm pretty sure if you have more than 1125 hours you should be ok.
That passage gives a number of options for determining eligibility, and the use of the word "OR" is important. Since you have more than 1125 hours of RN practice, the rest of it becomes just a bunch of ink. They would only come into play if you didn't have that 1125 hour criterion met. (Which, incidentally, is only about 60 % of the hours a person would be working in a single year of full-time nursing!)
Joanna73, thank you for your input. However, like I said in the original thread, from what I've read, the fact that I've studied in Quebec, and that Quebec is apparently the only province that recognizes an RN without a bachelor degree is what's causing my problem. Which would mean that there should be no problem between all the other English provinces, like in your case seeing as how you went from ON to AB.
Just for the record, I do not have a degree and I have no interest in pursuing a degree. The provincial colleges of nurses have jointly decided that the BScN will be the minimum educational preparation for entry-to-practice in Canada after a given date, and that's really up to them, the "self-regulating" profession aspect coming into play. But they'd have a really hard time telling all the diploma-educated RNs who have been working alongside the degree-educated nurses for years that they can't do the job and that they would be taking a drop in classification (and income). After all, do a bunch of liberal arts courses really make one a better nurse? Of course not, but experience and practice will. Relax, I'm convinced you're going to be just fine.
I recently came across this Link. I am planning On doing the exact same thing as you were. I would like to know what was the outcome of all of this for you. If You could help me out with some of the information you were able to find. I would appriviate it.
NotReady4PrimeTime, RN
5 Articles; 7,358 Posts
That passage gives a number of options for determining eligibility, and the use of the word "OR" is important. Since you have more than 1125 hours of RN practice, the rest of it becomes just a bunch of ink. They would only come into play if you didn't have that 1125 hour criterion met. (Which, incidentally, is only about 60 % of the hours a person would be working in a single year of full-time nursing!)
Just for the record, I do not have a degree and I have no interest in pursuing a degree. The provincial colleges of nurses have jointly decided that the BScN will be the minimum educational preparation for entry-to-practice in Canada after a given date, and that's really up to them, the "self-regulating" profession aspect coming into play. But they'd have a really hard time telling all the diploma-educated RNs who have been working alongside the degree-educated nurses for years that they can't do the job and that they would be taking a drop in classification (and income). After all, do a bunch of liberal arts courses really make one a better nurse? Of course not, but experience and practice will. Relax, I'm convinced you're going to be just fine.