Nurse midwife in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 17, 2011

I believe I read somewhere that all the visas for nurses under the skilled worker program for 2010/11 have been disbursed already. I think CIC was unprepared for the sheer volume of applications and ended up having to put a quota on them. Check this out: http://www.canadavisa.com/total-number-of-federal-skilled-worker-applications-received-by-cic.html The site says that the quota doesn't apply to those with arranged employment, meaning that if you already have a firm job offer you will be exempt from the quota. With your specialised training you may have a better chance of finding a job in BC, but things there are very tight at the moment with layoffs and hiring freezes. With Vancouver being the number two (after Toronto) choice for immigrants, you may have some difficulty. A quick look at Fraser Health's job listings shows only casual and a very small number of part-time positions available in maternal-child. One obstetrical/perinatal position is a 0.52 full-time equivalent and the other is a 0.71 FTE. The other option is to look at private midwifery provider groups.

Lyla_001 · Mar 17, 2011

Janfrn

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, CIC has stated that a maximum of 1,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing each year in the Federal Skilled Worker programa. The new cap opens on June 26th.

Last year the registered nurses´cap was reached on January. That´s why I´m preparing my documents to submit my application in June. Everyone must be doing the same!

I will first apply for the immigration and then start the CRNBC process.

I´ve heard that it is pretty hard to find an employer outside of Canada, so I decided to go for the FSW program.

What does it mean "One obstetrical/perinatal position is a 0.52 full-time equivalent and the other is a 0.71 FTE"? I assume that it is related to the payment system.

I wasn´t aware that the private midwifery groups could be an option. That´s interesting.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 17, 2011

No one knows if nurses are going to be included on the list in June however if is a good thing to get things ready just in case, you will be required to pass English or French exams for the provincial college as well as immigration.

0.52 and 0.71 FTE if I remember rightly is part time and the .5 and .7 equates to the level of part time so for example if the job is 40 hours and only 0.52 is advertised then you are looking at approx 20 hours give or take a couple of hours a week

Lyla_001 · Mar 17, 2011

Hi Silverdragon

Thank you for the part time explanation.

I can´t wait until June to get my documentation ready. It takes too long to get all the scholar transcripts and letters from the former employers.

Yes, IELTS General Training for immigration and IELTS Academic version for the CRNBC (nothing less then 7 in the four skills).

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 17, 2011

You will probably find that Academic is accepted by CIC, I am sure nurses have been accepted with just the Academic exam done

Lyla_001 · Mar 17, 2011

It would be great to pay for only one exam. The Academic version is harder than the General training.

However, the CIC site is very clear regarding the English language requirements.... I prefer not take the risk.

'IELTS has two options for the reading and writing tests: “General Training” and “Academic.” You must take the “General Training” option.'

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/language-testing.asp

DBain · Mar 22, 2011

Hi Lyla

I am a UK/US trained nurse-midwife and recently emigrated to Canada. You know midwifery is separate from nursing in Canada, right? You might consider emigrating as a midwife -- there is a bridging project for foreign-trained midwives that you can start from your home country as it is done electronically.

http://www.midwifery.ubc.ca/midwifery/multijuristdicbridging/BridgeOverview.htm

Lyla_001 · Mar 22, 2011

Hi DBain

Thank you for your suggestion.

Last year I took part in a conference in Vancouver, hosted by UBC, and I talked to some midwives there.

They told me that getting my registration in the CRNBC would be much easier than try to work in Canada as a midwife.

Did you try this program for foreign-trained midwives?

DBain · Mar 22, 2011

I have just passed the CRNE and am waiting for my registration to come through. I am in Ontario. I did this because I am unsure if I want to work here/now as a midwife and want to have options. Ontario has it's own program for foreign trained midwives which I am considering. My educational qualifications will be evaluated and then I'll be "invited" to have exams for the program. It sounds rough (I already trained in the UK and the US!) but not that bad considering neither the UK or the US even have a conversion program. They just flat out make you retrain in many cases. Canada is actively trying to grow its midwives. I have talked to the program director for the BC program and could put you in touch with her. The BC program sounds a little less hard on one's life in that you can do it from your home community for much of the time.

I'd love to discuss your midwifery work and Phd etc, but perhaps we should do this through a personal message. Which I don't know how to do on this forum!

Lyla_001 · Mar 22, 2011

I will try the CRNBC registration for the same reasons that you pointed out.

I want to have a broad vision of the Canadian health system before opting to register as a midwife.

It would be "the next step" for me.

It would be a pleasure to discuss that subjects with you. :)

Here we can have some hints on how to send private messages:

https://allnurses.com/frequently-asked-questions/can-someone-please-431783.html

We need to have 15 posts or more to be able to send pms. I still don´t have them!