No PMH-ANPs in Canada!!!

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Im currently about 1/2 way through a PMH-ANP program and my goal is to move to Canada, I just found out Canada does not recognize/license Psych ANPs!!! I didnt go into this program specifically to go to Canada, the idea to move came after the election, I cant live in this country anymore and watch the GOP destroy it!

Ok politics aside...... I have always loved Canada and really want to move, Im just so bummed I would not be able to use my degree there. Does anyone out there know about mental health nursing in Canada? Or what options I might have? Im going to talk to the nursing board of BC since that is the province I want to go to. Ugh, just so disappointed. I honestly dont think I can keep my sanity and stay in this country though.

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As far as I know, most (if not all) of the US advanced practice nursing roles are not recognized in other countries.

Best wishes for your journey!

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

British Columbia is one of the provinces with Registered Psychiatric Nurses, which is a distinct position separate from just being a registered nurse. I don't know much of the specifics but it might be something for you to research if psychiatric nursing in Canada is your goal.

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Specializes in Forensic Psychiatry.

I'm have dual citizenship and have lived in both countries and just finished up my MSN-PMHNP degree (waiting to take the boards).

Just getting licensed in Canada as an RN is an extremely arduous process if you were not educated in Canada - it's a lot easier from what I know for Canadians to get licensed in the United States than It is for Americans to get licensed in Canada. The first step would be to get all of your US education and work experience verified by the National Nursing Assessment service - which costs $500 and can take upwards of 12 months to get your education verified. They require some pretty serious documentation including syllabus information from each class of your nursing education filled out by your school, each job within the past 5 years to give a reference and so on.

The western states do have a separation between registered nurse and registered psychiatric nurse - however a registered psychiatric nurse is comparable to a registered nurse that works in a psychiatric setting in the United States - they do not have APRN practice. There are no Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner roles in Canada. The APRN degree in the US that is comparable to the APRN positions in Canada is the FNP.

I'm sorry if that is not the brightest outlook. I have a lot of family and friends back in Canada and miss it terribly but would have to either go through the NNAS process and work as an RN in Canada and not use my advanced practice education or scrap my career altogether and go for something else to live there (which is easier for me because I am a citizen already - much harder to do if you are trying to immigrate to Canada).

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