province to province

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jan 28, 2008

That's a difficult question. Quebec has their own standards for nursing education and registration and it seems to me from what I've been able to glean from their website, it isn't totally equivalent to the rest of the country. That might be your downfall. Going from Ontario to Manitoba or BC from Manitoba would be a bit easier. You have to submit transcripts from your nursing education and proof of your registration in each place you've been registered to the provincial College of Registered Nurses, and the Colleges want the infomation submitted to them directly from the schools and other Colleges. That's their best defense against fraud. (Did you read about the nurse imposter in Manitoba that was in the papers this week? Good example of why they are so tough.) They then assess the information against what their local requirements are and decide whether you're qualified or not. Every single person who you talk to is going to want money, and in some cases, a lot of it. But they won't be in any hurry to do the work you've paid them for. Even 5 1/2 years ago a nurse moved here from Manitoba and was already doing her orientation but was not able to do any nursing care because the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba had been sitting on her verification (and money) for weeks. She was starting to worry and because I'd just arrived here from the same place, and I was friends with the president of CRNM at the time, I was able to get things sped up for her. I told her to use my name... and bingo the stuff was faxed to CARNA (it was still the AARN then, but you ge my drift) the same day. I can't do that kind of thing anymore since I don't have those kind of contacts these days, but was glad I was able to help her.

Your best bet is to call the toll free number for the College in the province you're interested in and speek to someone in the registrar's office. They'll be able to tell you what is involved.