canfliprn

3)The refreshers course are for recent immigrants. Non-immigrants/citizens do not take the refreshers course because the CEGEPs are government funded/public schools. I never heard or met anyone who is a not a permanent resident/citizen. However, in the 60's due to the overwhelming shortage of nurses,internationally trained nurses were given temporary working permits, called CPNP (Candidate to Practice in the Nursing Profession) if they have job offers in Quebec and on conditions that they pass the Connaissance de la langue francais exam (sorry to keep emphasizing this because I find that the language exam is really the condition, and the rest are secondary because if you cannot pass it even if you take the refreshers course and pass the OIIQ exam,..it's NADA for you & goodbye!) But find out if the French Exam you pass is valid here,because that will make it much easier for you to find a job offer. Clarify with them if you just need a job offer to get here and start OR you still need to take the refreshers course,...if you have to, then I don't have any idea how you can take the course here, unless they have change the rules. 4) Finally, it is very easy to find a job here in Montreal as an RN if you studied here in Quebec. Because even canadian nurses from other provinces are not given temporary permits until they pass the language exam,..because not all Canadians speak French. I met a nurse from Alberta in my French course last summer and she was placed on government welfare for 1 year to avail the free courses,..she could not practice as a nurse in Quebec eventhough she had a Bachelors, varied experience in different fields of nursing, and her permit is recognize all over Canada except here because she could not pass the language exam even after 1 year of taking the course. She was very frustrated because she is a single mom too, and she cannot find employment and was losing time to get more experience,..she had job offers but cannot even start!! I felt sorry for her, and the last time I spoke to her she said that her only choice is to move to the rest of Canada to keep her competence. This is not only specific to Nursing,it's the same with other professional orders in Quebec because all higher professional domains requires bilingualism. On the bright side, if you really want to work here I have a piece of advice that might work for you. It would probably be easier and practical for you to apply to the hospitals and ask them if they are hiring nurses in situations like yours. And if they do, I am sure that they will help facilitate the processing of your documents. This is how they do it in the US, and sometimes it doesn't hurt to get the services of employment agencies instead of you losing time and money by dealing with the OIIQ through long-distance communications....what do you think? I hope this is helpful! I really would love to stay in Quebec but it just not very practical & realistic for me in the long-term! I really sense a lot of frustration on your part dealing with the OIIQ, I had a dose of them too when I was a student here & to this date when I call some French hospitals they hang up the phone the moment they hear I am speaking in English....I'm guessing the person on the phone panics because she only speaks French because when I redialed and the same lady answered, I spoke in French and she did not hang-up the phone! Sweet, lol!!! And I noticed that if the people on the other line are bilingual they easily switch to whichever language they sense you are more at ease and are very friendly! Bienvenue à québec!!!....Bonne chance encore!!!

1)All foreign grad nurses in Quebec are required to do refresher courses for six months to prepare them for the OIIQ Exams which is a two-part and 2 day exam,i.e. OSCE/Simulated Exams on Day1 & Theory/Written Exam on D2. You have a choice to do the refreshers courses in English or French in CEGEPs, called "colleges" here....You're "Ètudes universitaire de premier cycle complétées" is equivalent to a CEGEP Diploma and, thus, makes your Bachelors Degree & all your work experiences down-graded to College Diploma. You will have the title of an RN but not as a Nurse Clinician. It takes one to two years to process your documents with the OIIQ, public employees in Quebec are more laid-back ;-D LOL! Anf if you still need to register for the refreshers course,sadly, there is a waiting list in almost all CEGEPs that offer it,moreover, there is only one in English and the rest are in French. If you plan to take the refresher course in English, it will be mandatory to take & pass the Office québecois de la langue français exams in four parts,i.e. interview,composition writing, oral & written interview. And FINALLY, the OIIQ office never answer your phone calls because almost all of the staff are French speakers, and it does not sound impressive if you are only speaking in English, even their web site is becoming more and more French only and all the workshops are rarely in English!! YAY! That was long! I will try to answer questions 2,3,4..next time, if you don't mind,..je m'excuse. Et Bonne chance!

You also have to pass a French language exam if you wish to come here. I studied here in Montrea, Quebec in an English school but did not do my Secondary School here,therefore, I have to go through the exam too. You will only get a temporary permit/license until you pass the language exam. If you are not fluent in French forget coming here and waste your time. I am waiting to pass my language exam and will be out of here,..can't wait!!

I suggest that to those who had just arrived in Quebec, and are not proficient in French yet,... that it is more practical to get an equivalence and take the nursing licensure exam in the other provinces,...you will be better off with a CRNE license than OIIQ- there are a lot of barriers in Quebec!!!