Nursing School in Canada

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Hello everyone! This is my first post. I have been trying to collect information on what my plans are for my life in the next 10 years. I thought a great place to do it is here.

I am a 23 year old who is currently an EMT-B in the states with a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice. My plan was always to become a police officer, but after becoming an EMT I found my passion for the medical field. I know I have a long road a head because of the fact of having to go back to school again to become a nurse, but I think it is better for me to get started now while I'm still somewhat young.

With my discovery that I want to be in the medical field, after many trips and time with friends that live there, I really would like to move to Canada. Specifically Toronto or Ontario in general. My plan was to apply to a nursing school in Toronto so I have the right knowledge to take the CRNE(I think this is what the nursing exam in Canada is called) however, I have some questions.

1. Can you take the CRNE if you are not a Canadian PR or applying for it? Basically as a U.S citizen, after I would finish my degree in Canada, would I be able to take it and try and get a job in Canada, or would I have to return home, work, and than apply to take it and get PR. With that comes question

2. If I cannot find a job offer right away in Canada, will my degree from Toronto transfer to NYC? Would I simply have to pass the NY state nursing exam and be able to work? Or does schooling from Canada not count.

Thank you all for any help you can give me. I have a lot of thinking to do and am trying to collect as much information as I can.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

CRNE no longer exist. Canadian licensure candidates now take the NCLEX-RN

even if trained in Canada most states consider you an internationally educated nurse and you must go through a credentials assessment (NY requires a CVS from CGFNS which averages 6 months to process)

Have you looked at Canadian immigration to see if you qualify for PR or work visa? Have you looked to see if any schools accept international students? Toronto is a highly populated province with little need to import nurses

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Suggest you look at the College of Nurses of Ontario license requirements, even if you obtain your nursing education in Ontario and pass the NCLEX, you will still need permanent resisdence in order to obtain your license. As for a work visa, Toronto is saturated with nurses and there is no need for employers to hire Americans under the NAFTA agreement.

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I found a few school that do except international students in Toronto. I am not limiting myself to Toronto, it is just the place I would prefer to go. I would go anywhere in Canada.

I would not qualify for a PR. Perhaps with further work experience I will. As for a work Visa, I have not looked into that.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
I found a few school that do except international students in Toronto. I am not limiting myself to Toronto, it is just the place I would prefer to go. I would go anywhere in Canada.

I would not qualify for a PR. Perhaps with further work experience I will. As for a work Visa, I have not looked into that.

If you don't qualify for PR then you don't qualify for a nursing license. No nursing license = ineligible to work and ineligible for work visa. Generally you need yo be licensed in the province you were educated in before attempting a license in another province. Without PR status you won't get very far.

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I see. How does it work for nurses in other counties who go to Canada to work? They apply for PR status as a nurse and then apply? I thought you needed a job offer before you can apply for PR status? I must be mistaken.

Do any of you know if you need PR status in order to be registered as a Paramedic in Canada?

Thank you for your replies so far. I appreciate it.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

You cannot apply for PR status. You have to meet the requirements for PR which include living in Canada for a certain number of years. To do this you would need to qualify for a work visa. Since Canada is not in need of nurses this would be very difficult. Employers have lots of Canadian citizens to choose from, they don't need to import nurses.

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Some people have posted in this forum that they attended nursing school as an international student, but it is not clear what happened to them after they graduated. I would be very surprised to hear that they received job offers in Ontario because there are so many qualified Ontario nurses looking for work.

Regarding paramedic, I am not familiar with the requirements, suggest you look on healthforceontario's website and contact them with your questions about working as a paramedic in Ontario.

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Thank you @dishes. I will look into doing that. Registered Nurses is on the list for needed workers in Canada, so I figured they were needed.

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Yes, some places in Canada do need experienced nurses (usually rural and remote areas), but internationally educated nurses seem to prefer settling in the large and medium sized cities instead of the areas that need them. When you are from outside of Canada, there are quite a few barriers to becoming a nurse in Canada, you will need to sort through a lot of information to see if it is worth your time and money to relocate here.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

There is different routes to get PR in Canada suggest reading the CIC website

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

Be careful about making plans to attend school in Canada and then possible work as an RN in the US. I know this is not the same in every case (I'm in Northeastern Florida) but there is an ER nurse I work with who had to go through the entirety of nursing school twice because the hospitals around here would not accept his Canadian nursing education.

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