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I did not mean to focus too much on my personal experience. Although everybody including the Human Rights officer told me to file a complaint against this small company, large hospitals may not be as explicit as this one. Otherwise they will be sued. My point is, it could be "possible" there is a favortism for non-minority or non-visible minority or no-accent English-speaker when the job market lead is on the hiring side. It is just a speculation. I was triggered to think about this possibility after my personal experience. I would like to hope it was just my single experience and no other companies treat applicants this way.

NotReady4PrimeTime I am sorry to confuse you but I am not IEN. I am a Canadian citizen born outside of Canada. I first immigrated to Canada well after I acquired my first language. I pay the same tax as Canadian citizens.

Congratulations!

I am thinking with this severe job market for nurses, it is possible HR favors Canadian born nurses over internationally born nurses. I personally had an experience where the employer told me to take an English course if I want the job. I mean, I am originally from overseas but I graduated from a university in Canada with BScN and have several years of RN experience with no problem in English. This is nothing but a discrimination. They said I have an accent. Yes I do, because English is my second language. But nobody had ever complained about my accent until this encounter.

Thanks Kissunshine. Yes as I am preparing for application, I started realizing there are not much space to insert such comments... haha My grade is low in only ONE of the years in undergrad, so I wanted to explain the reason in case the admission panels wonder. I guess if I am (luckily) invited for an interview I can explain it there. And yes, I keep hearing scary stories from NP friends... That's why I want part-time study and concentrate on each course and work minimum. I want to be equipped with solid knowledge when I graduate. It's even more scary to be thrown into an NP position without much knowledge. I am so determined to do this (if they admit me)...it's been my dream since I was 14 :) By the way, I personally know an NP who is a single mother of 8 (yes, eight) and did double degree of PHC and Peds simultaneously. I don't even know how she did it or if she ever slept at night!

Joanna has a good point. Professional resume writing service is not everything. I used it but I am revising here and there to match the individual job posting I am applying for. What I learned from the resume professional though, is that "key words" must be included in the resume/cover letter. I was missing a lot of key words. If your resume/cover letter do not have the key words that match the job posting, the HR is not going to pick you which means you are not visible to the managers who are hiring. It is good to know the hiring side of view. There is a good book I read: "Knock 'em Dead, ultimate job search guide", and "Knock 'em Dead, resumes" by Martin Yate. They also have a website knockemdead.com I found this book at a library. There were so many eye-opening tips for interview/resume/job search. I'd recommend reading this book if you feel stuck. A lot of the things written here is what the resume writer told me about, so I would think you can write a great resume using a book like this as well (it's free if you can borrow it from a library . On a good side, I am glad I spoke with a resume writer because it worked as an individualized job counseling for me. I felt really stuck and was losing confidence in finding a job (I was even thinking about leaving nursing, the profession I love!). By talking to a job search professional, I felt much more confident. And of course I learned valuable tips as well

Recently I returned to Ontario from the US and found myself having difficulty landing a job as well. I have several years of nursing experience in both Ontario and US. Canadian university graduate with BScN. CNO took a year to reinstate my RN license which delayed my application for jobs. So there is a gap in my resume which I suspect is acting as a big negative. Anyways, I somehow finally landed a part-time job but it is not enough financially. I am still looking...doing the same thing as you. Sending 3-4 resumes/day. I recently paid$$ and got a professional to write my resume and cover letter. This strategy was recommended on the RNAO website as well. The service is pricey, but think about a month wage I am losing by not getting a job offer, I thought it's worthwhile. Caution: If you use a professional resume writer, be careful and selective with the service. Some websites do not even have their company address/contacts.

Thank you, joanna73. Sounds like you are from a faculty member of a nursing school? I always wonder how 10+ years experienced nurses provide academic references. It must be difficult for them. One of the professors I worked close with (and the one who evaluated my academic performance highly) passed away years ago. One academic reference is the maximum I can probably provide... I am confident with my intent for admission though. I just have to write it well.

Thank you toronto_nurse for sharing a summary of an information session. Very informative. #6...good to know. they are not going to look at the application if GPA is below minimum. It is my hope that Canadian NP schools somehow come up with a way to give people who don't qualify for application a chance, such as GRE in the US. High score does not always mean a good nurse.

Thank you Kissunshine for the encouraging message. I feel like I should try my best in application for 2017, then if I am not successful I will think about it. For now I will focus on application. Just curious, did you try to explain your GPA in your letter of intent? I am thinking about mentioning the reason why my GPA was so low in one of the years of study because I do have a reason. In one of the info sessions at U.S. NP schools, they actually encouraged applicants to talk about reasons for low GPA if we feel necessary. I am not sure if this works for Ontario NP schools admissions too.

By all means, AVOID going on non-practicing class if possible. I was in non-practicing class for 4 months before my situation changed and needed to go back to Ontario. When I tried to reinstate, CNO asked me to submit documents of employment verification, reference letter from my former employer, registration record from US, and ENGLISH test! Luckily, after evaluation of other documents, they decided I don't need to prove my English proficiency. I went to Canadian nursing school and worked in Canada for several years before going to non-practicing status. It simply did not make sense that they wanted me to prove my English proficiency... The whole process of reinstatement took almost a year! Period in Non-practicing class = 4 months Time took to reinstate = 1 year Not worth it.

Yes, 3.6 is about what I am expecting to be the average GPA of successful candidates. That is why I am trying to plan my strategies to widen the chance of getting in... How many work experiences do they usually have? Who are the referees that have most impact?

There are physicians who don't get the idea of NPs (I personally know and worked with one of those)...but I think this professional field is going to expand and will be more widely recognized/demanded in the future.

Western is asking for B+ or higher. Admissions & Applying - Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing - Western University I am sure I saw another school with the same criteria. U of T is super competitive. Even though min GPA is 3.0 I don't think that is enough. It is great that you have an NP offering to be your reference. This was not in Ontario but in the US, there were NP schools preferring NPs/RNs to be a reference instead of MDs when I was searching schools in the states. And the reason being nurses can evaluate peer nurses better than other professions, which I agree. I would assume there are admission committees in Ontario schools who think the same.

Hi CanadianRN16, it is good to know that someone is in the same boat with me :) Yes I worked in a clinic for about 2 years which led me to consider becoming a PHCNP. I should be able to obtain good references from my supervisors (MD) and manager at the clinic. I cannot provide academic reference as I graduated 10 years ago. Some schools require higher than B+ average...which immediately fails me I am in the process of selecting schools to apply for.

Hi I am seeking advice on NP school in Ontario. I really want to become an NP but my GPA is just above 3.0. Final year in nursing was 3.5, but the former year was below 3.0. My transcript looks disastrous... I know it is a competitive admission process. I am wondering... 1. Should I take some undergrad/grad courses to boost my GPA? 2. Should I look into US NP schools as well? I have US RN license too. 3. Some NP schools are giving preference to a candidate who has "continuous nursing experience". I moved to the US during my carrier and worked in different field. I also did not work while I had babies. I worry that this may add another drawback in my application.

I took mine Friday 16th...finished at around 180 qs. 10 min before the time up.I thought I failed but the pop-up everyone is talking about is looking good for me. I studied only my weak areas in Saunders. borrowed several books from library. Exam cram, Hurst, Kaplan, lippincot...but barely had time to read them because I have 8 month baby! I studied only 2 hours a day after my baby slept at night. I read Hurst and Kaplan's test taking strategies at least. But didn't do CDs simply because it didn't work on my Mac.I won't be surprised if I fail But I do hope I passed!