NP Schools in Canada

eela2 · Feb 13, 2014

Hey all,

I know there was a topic started on this a few year's back but has since been closed. I am currently an RN practicing in Alberta, Canada. Just wanting to know what others' experiences in Primary Health Care NP (PHC-NP) schools across Canada were.

So far I have applied to the U of S in Saskatchewan as well as UWindsor, York, and Ryerson. I have a few questions in respect to them:

1. Can anyone say anything on any of these schools?

2. To those who completed the programs, what were your experiences like?

3. How are NP's reimbursed? From online and those who I've talked to, NP's appear to be salaried, the only exception being ON where they are salaried but are also able to bill for ordering diagnostic tests (e.g. XRays). I assume they may work under partnership in an MD's practice where they are salaried and whatever billings will go to the MD's practice.

4. How transferable are your NP credentials between provinces? (e.g. AB-SK-ON). I have been hearing mixed things that it is possible but a hassle as the NP is not yet standardized across Canada.

As per the NP consortium in ON, their programs are all similar; the only exception is UWindsor which appears to not require a publishable research paper (they do emphasize analyzing and critiquing research however). Saskatchewan's program seems to have coursework similar to that of Ontario's, however, I am again unsure of portability.

And finally, my fifth question: to those who are out there practicing, how do you find the job market where you are? What were some of the challenges?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!