Practical Nursing in Canada for 2 years

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Hi, I am a registered nurse in the Philippines with no work experience. I enrolled at a 2-year practical nursing program at Centennial College in Toronto Canada. I already have a student visa and will be leaving this November but my classes will start on January.

My question is, will CNO allow me to take the Practical nurse licensure exam on a post-graduation work permit? I read on the Canadian Immigration website that students who graduate from a course 8 months and longer are eligible for a post-graduation work permit which will be valid for as long as the course they graduated from. I was wondering if CNO would allow me to take the licensure exam with that permit.

Thank you so much. I'm new here and registered just so I could ask this question. :)

[color=#333333]hi asiole..

[color=#333333]they're right, you don't need to take an rpn course anymore because a bachelor degree of nursing + having passed the licensure exam back home will already qualify you to take the rpn exam.

[color=#333333]the only reason i'm taking a pn course is because i would like to migrate here soon and the only way i can do that now is through the student visa route. i could have picked any other course because it isn't necessary to take the pn one, but this one is currently the most convenient for me. since it is a 2- yr course, it will make me eligible for a 3 yr work permit after graduation (postgraduation work permit) and then give me a possibility to migrate once i have worked as a practical nurse for at least 1 year (canadian experience class). there are many other courses to choose from so if you plan to take the student visa route as well, you can look into other courses. i am sticking to this course for my own reasons.

[color=#333333]the rn bridging program in ontario for rns from other countries with no experience is equivalent to 3 years. 1 year at a college (like the school i am in now) and 2 years in a university (like ryerson or york for example). i am eligible to start a bridging to rn but i chose to pursue becoming an immigrant first and then maybe move to another province for the bridging program when the time comes because other provinces like alberta, only take a year to bridge to rn regardless of your work experience. you can pm me if you have other questions. best of luck to u.:)

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Thank you so much for all of your replies. I really appreciate that. Same as you, i would want to work and hopefully, migrate to Canada. I search for ways on how to get there, and studying there is the only way I think i am qualified since i don't have any work experience here in the Philippines and I have NOT pass the board exam too. I actually have a sister in Ontario, and she's an immigrant already. But, unfortunately she cannot sponsor me under family stream anymore because i'm already 23. That's why studying there is the only way i can think of. Also, I can't think of any other course that i'm familiar with. To be able to migrate to Canada, I have read that you need to work in line with NOC A,B or 0 and as much as i would want to take another course other than PN, I don't think there's any other course that could land me a job that falls under it. And i'm worried that if I would choose another course not related with Nursing, there would be a tendency that Canadian embassy reject my student application because they might think that I have other plans aside from going there just to study. Again, thank you so much for your time.

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Hello Kamae and Asiole this Topic is old but I'm hoping you can help me. I'm also a fresh grad and I've just passed the NLE this year and I'm hoping to enter Candana as well via student visa and work while processing the immigration requirements. As most fresh grads I still lack the necessary work experience to go for the point system most agencies are offering, tho I have family in Ottawa and I do have some savings to fund my study I really have ZERO Idea on what, how, where to start. I would really like to chat with you if its possible but I still lack the needed post for pm but you can contact me via FB CrazyFingaz i really hope you read this and can point me to the right direction. Thank You in advance x)

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Please read this thread: https://allnurses.com/international-nursing/iens-regarding-canadian-772857.html

These changes are likely to be in place well before you will have finalized your plans and you will most likely not qualify for a student visa.

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hi Kamae! how has your plan worked out for you? I'm curious because i'm planning to do the same thing.any feedback on your practical nursing program will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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Hi Kamae,This is a late entry, but I read you comment/entry, sept. 11, 2011 and it is really interesting to me. Maybe you can answer/help me. It will definitely benefit me.My brother graduated from Philippines with no work experience as an RN. Therefore, he is interested in applying to Vancouver, Canada as an LPN nursing student due to no jobs in Phiippines. There is already a school that is accredited that he interested and it is legitimate. My question to you is, if he is applying for the LPN route in Canada will the consulate question his RN to LPN route in order to receive a student visa. Have you been questioned by Canadian Officer that you are an RN and studying LPN in Canada. I read your comment, your already an RN from Philippines but went for LPN program in Toronto, Canada College. Did canadian immigration gave you hard time prior to receiving a student visa. Did they asked why you an RN and why you are studying as an LPN in Canada. Please reply and would be greatly appreciated as soon as possible. Thank you.

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Hello everyone. We all have the same predicaments about nursing here in Canada. In my case, I am now here in Toronto having a tourist visa. I have it for two years. I want to pursue my nursing career. Never had an experience though. I dont know where to start. Here are my status on the requirements. 1.Graduated of BSN in Philippines. 2. No nursing experience. 3. Licensed nurse in Philippines. 4. NoT ielts passer 5. (i dont understand the requirements #5) 6. Having tourist visa. 7. i dont know where to get the canadian criminal recors sypnosis.

I am also thinking. Since I am here would it be a nice idea if I go to a hospital and check myself if they would hire me and probably they can help me with my papers.

Any form of help will be much appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Well, first off, you can't work on a tourist visa in any capacity. If you're caught you working you will be deported and will be refused entrance to Canada for life. So be very careful in how you proceed.

Second, you cannot even have your application for registration assessed without having a passing score on IELTS or CELBAN. These are assessments of fluency in English, which is vitally important in health care professions in Canada. These exams test listening, reading, writing and speaking. For information on IELTS read here: http://www.ielts.org/test_takers_information.aspx CELBAN information can be found here: CELBAN If you have trouble understanding the information presented on these two sites it suggests that you will need remediation of your English education in order to pass.

Third, your credentials will be assessed by the College of Nurses of Ontario (International - CNO) for equivalence to Canadian education. Because you were educated in the Philippines there may be a requirement for you to undergo a substantially equivalent competency assessment. You don't need experience to be registered but in the current job market, you WILL need experience (and lots of it) to get a job in Ontario. No hospital or other facility will be willing to help you with your paperwork because they're not going to have a job for you so there will be no benefit to the facility. The economy in Ontario is quite fragile at the present and with health care being a provincially funded service, there are very few jobs available for anyone, even those nurses who have lived in Toronto or some other part of Canada all their lives and have decades of experience. A friend of mine has a Master's degree and is a pediatric nurse practitioner with more than 20 years of experience who moved to Ontario this past summer for her husband's job. She's still looking for work.

You will need to obtain your criminal records check through the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). You need to prepare yourself for a lot of expense, a lot of waiting on documentation, a lot of waiting to have the documentation assessed, a lot of frustration and many challenges. Read the stickies - https://allnurses.com/international-nursing/iens-regarding-canadian-772857.html

https://allnurses.com/international-nursing/consolidation-must-read-575219.html

https://allnurses.com/international-nursing/must-read-international-272170.html

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Hi kamae! Were you able to sit the RPN exam? I have almost the same dilemma as you ..iv applied as an rpn and successfully met CNO's education requirement... I am now eligible to sit the exam.. But problem is i dont have a pr status or whatsoever... Im confused what to do next... Shall i take the student visa route? For the sake of obtaining a post grad work permit?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Hi kamae! Were you able to sit the RPN exam? I have almost the same dilemma as you ..iv applied as an rpn and successfully met CNO's education requirement... I am now eligible to sit the exam.. But problem is i dont have a pr status or whatsoever... Im confused what to do next... Shall i take the student visa route? For the sake of obtaining a post grad work permit?

Did you train in Canada? I doubt you will qualify for post grad work permit as they are according to website only for people who have trained in Canada

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Hi kamae! Were you able to sit the RPN exam? I have almost the same dilemma as you ..iv applied as an rpn and successfully met CNO's education requirement... I am now eligible to sit the exam.. But problem is i dont have a pr status or whatsoever... Im confused what to do next... Shall i take the student visa route? For the sake of obtaining a post grad work permit?

Hi.. I can't believe I started this thread 2 years ago.. been awhile. Yes, I took the RPN exam sept of last year and passed it. But to get my license, I need to finish this RPN course (because I graduated my BSN more than 3 years ago) and it serves as proof of English proficiency. I am graduating next week and then will be applying for my postgraduation work permit. Since I graduated a 2 year course, I may get a 3 year open work permit. I am to pass that work permit to CNO for them to complete my assessment for RPN.

It is possible for you to take the student visa route.. but you need to graduate a course of at least a year in length (from what I recall) for you to qualify for a postgrad work permit. Ontario is the toughest when it comes to assessment of Internationally educated nurses. I suggest that you look into other provinces as well.

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Hi Smith_RN, sorry it took me a year to reply. Hope you'll still be able to read this. The first thing you need to do is to take an English proficiency exam such as the IELTS. That's a requirement of any College or University in Canada for international students. The next step would be to choose a school that offers courses for international students. Once you receive an acceptance letter from the school, you can start processing your student visa. You don't need to hire an agency.. you can do it yourself. Here's a link to the instructions from the cic website:Get a study permit

I wish you lots of luck. Contact me through allnurses if you have any other questions on this. :)

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