Requirements for reinstating from non-practising class (Ontario)

LolaRN09 · Nov 4, 2016

I'm actually going through the process right now and it takes FOREVER (you're looking at 2+ years, no joke). I worked for 8 years then was injured at work and was on medical leave. When I submitted my application for reinstatement with CNO it was dated 3 years and 2 weeks since my last shift worked -- they do NOT give any wiggle room for the 3-year mark! It also takes them forever to process your documents so expect a few months (at least) for that. And they will require proof of English language proficiency (yes, even if you were born/raised/educated in Canada) -- just giving you a heads-up on that. And you will have to do the online Jurisprudence Exam. The process is very costly.
As for the Letter of Direction, mine says that if you've been away from nursing for "three to ten years" you have to complete: 400 hours of clinical/practical/consolidation PLUS "relevant nursing course content related to cultural context, computers, technology, pharmacology, practice standards, health assessment, legal/ethical, gerontology, and communication". It says I have until June 1, 2019 to do this.
George Brown has a program but it does take a minimum of 2 years -- theory classes for the first year (including summer) and your clinical/consolidation over the second year (fall & winter terms). They look at your letter from CNO & CV then email you a list of classes and guidelines on timeline -- it's based on your experience, work history, etc. Their program is continuing ed so no financial aid (or rather they do have a bursary thing but it's only 80% of the tuition with a lifetime max of $1000). The courses are between $300-450 each, roughly. The final clinical course is $1500. Plus the fees for all the clinically-related stuff (TB tests, mask fit, police check, etc) -- I priced it out to around $400, give or take.
Centennial also has a program (it's under their IEN bridging). Their program is only a year but has a strong community/mental health focus. You do your classes & clinical over one year. The costs are about the same as George Brown but they are a full-time program so you can apply for OSAP if you need it. I was in communication with their coordinator but he is VERY disorganized and frustrating and I finally gave up and stuck with George Brown. The courses at George Brown are more interesting and relevant to me and where I'm going. But you might prefer the faster option.
I would say hang onto your CNO registration for dear life! It's a long and very expensive road back.

Hi madricka! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! And very sorry to hear about the long, expensive and frustrating process you've been going through.

It's shocking that it takes that long to complete the courses/clinical hours (2 years!) and that they don't take any consideration for why you weren't practicing (ie: medical leave). It's very easy to get to the 3 year mark of not practising for one reason or another (family life being an important one too!).

It's funny (or not so funny), every nurse I have spoken to about this is surprised by the 3 year cut-off. I think the other provinces might be 5 years? And other health professionals are usually 5 years I think? (I know OT is). When I told my one friend from nursing school that you have to take courses to re-instate after not practising she said "like a weekend course that covers assessments and medication admin?" hahah I wish! :drowning:

LolaRN09 · Nov 4, 2016

You would have to actually work in the other province since the CNO doesn't just look at registration [in other provinces] but the last date in which you practiced nursing. And moving to another province, working, then coming home and attempting to register with CNO would be costly and time-consuming. I did consider it briefly though. It's just not a practical option for me right now. Not sure if it's an option for the OP.

@NotReady4PrimeTime

Interesting idea, but I think madricka is right. You would have to actually work in the other province before you could reapply to the CNO. Definitely not an option for me.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Nov 4, 2016

This is all just one more confirmation of my decision never to live in Ontario again.

madricka, BSN, RN · Nov 5, 2016

Hi madricka! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! And very sorry to hear about the long, expensive and frustrating process you've been going through.
It's shocking that it takes that long to complete the courses/clinical hours (2 years!) and that they don't take any consideration for why you weren't practicing (ie: medical leave). It's very easy to get to the 3 year mark of not practising for one reason or another (family life being an important one too!).
It's funny (or not so funny), every nurse I have spoken to about this is surprised by the 3 year cut-off. I think the other provinces might be 5 years? And other health professionals are usually 5 years I think? (I know OT is). When I told my one friend from nursing school that you have to take courses to re-instate after not practising she said "like a weekend course that covers assessments and medication admin?" hahah I wish!

It's true! I don't like how the letter says if you've been out of practice for 3-10 years as if being out for 3 years is the same as being out for 10! Plus, I worked in a very busy critical care/trauma unit, it wasn't as if I worked part-time in a doctor's office (no offence meant whatsoever to those who have that position!!) -- my clinical skills are still very strong and I think the most I would need is maybe buddying with another nurse for a month just to get back into the daily routine. But nope, the rules are pretty strict and there is no wiggle room whatsoever. I was really angry and upset about it at first but I'm more resigned to it now. There is nothing I can do about it and the time will pass whether I'm doing the program or not. In the end I'll be glad I sucked it up and did it, I'll have another 25 years of work (hopefully!) so in the end it will be worth it. I will make the best of it. :)

But yes! A weekend refresher course would be nice! I'll bring snacks & beverages for everyone! lol

mightymini · Nov 5, 2016

I've done this through Centennial program. You have an option of taking flex (instead of full time bridging program, you take about 70- 80% course load in a term), still eligible for osap (I got OSAP for first two semester but consolidation part (200 hrs) paid out of my pocket cost about $1000.) it take two semesters for theory courses+200 clinical, and another 5-6 weeks for the remaining 200 hrs consolidation.

*** once you complete these courses, you no longer need to meet English proficiency requirement. Automatically exempted from it as you took the courses in English speaking institution. self-explanatory....

*** after completing all the courses/clinical hours, the school need to fill out your VCC form and send it to CNO & you need to mail final transcription from school to CNO as well... then registration package arrives.. fill it out and send it back to CNO with police check and fee payment.. once your school's done, all these remaining paper works takes about 4-6wks.

LolaRN09 · Nov 10, 2016

It's true! I don't like how the letter says if you've been out of practice for 3-10 years as if being out for 3 years is the same as being out for 10! Plus, I worked in a very busy critical care/trauma unit, it wasn't as if I worked part-time in a doctor's office (no offence meant whatsoever to those who have that position!!) -- my clinical skills are still very strong and I think the most I would need is maybe buddying with another nurse for a month just to get back into the daily routine. But nope, the rules are pretty strict and there is no wiggle room whatsoever. I was really angry and upset about it at first but I'm more resigned to it now. There is nothing I can do about it and the time will pass whether I'm doing the program or not. In the end I'll be glad I sucked it up and did it, I'll have another 25 years of work (hopefully!) so in the end it will be worth it. I will make the best of it. :)
But yes! A weekend refresher course would be nice! I'll bring snacks & beverages for everyone! lol

madricka - sounds like you have a great attitude about a not ideal situation. You are too right, time will pass no matter what so might as well make the best of it. Good luck with the courses, hope you end up where you want to be!

LolaRN09 · Nov 10, 2016

I've done this through Centennial program. You have an option of taking flex (instead of full time bridging program, you take about 70- 80% course load in a term), still eligible for osap (I got OSAP for first two semester but consolidation part (200 hrs) paid out of my pocket cost about $1000.) it take two semesters for theory courses+200 clinical, and another 5-6 weeks for the remaining 200 hrs consolidation.
*** once you complete these courses, you no longer need to meet English proficiency requirement. Automatically exempted from it as you took the courses in English speaking institution. self-explanatory....
*** after completing all the courses/clinical hours, the school need to fill out your VCC form and send it to CNO & you need to mail final transcription from school to CNO as well... then registration package arrives.. fill it out and send it back to CNO with police check and fee payment.. once your school's done, all these remaining paper works takes about 4-6wks.

Thanks for the info about the process at Centennial. One year certainly sounds more manageable!

Aida80 · Nov 17, 2016

OMG I received a letter today and it says the exact same thing 400 hours of clinical/practical/ consolidation experience. Plus the courses ... not sure if the 400 is clinical only and then additional hours are required for the theory.... well long journey worth taking

madricka, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2016

OMG I received a letter today and it says the exact same thing 400 hours of clinical/practical/ consolidation experience. Plus the courses ... not sure if the 400 is clinical only and then additional hours are required for the theory.... well long journey worth taking

The theory is separate from the clinical hours. As for program structure, it depends on where you do the program. For example, at George Brown you do the theory classes first (in class, online, or a mix), then do the clinical hours later over 2 semesters. If you do it at Centennial you take theory classes and do your placement hours all at the same time.

madricka, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2016

Thanks for the info about the process at Centennial. One year certainly sounds more manageable!

Make sure you look at the course list & clinical placement settings for the different programs. One might appeal to you more than the other (Eg. the Centennial program has a heavy community/mental health focus whereas George Brown had a more acute care focus). Depending on where you'd like to work later you may find one program more interesting/beneficial than the other. One more aspect to consider!

nav Kaur · Apr 29

I know this is an old post and the year now is 2024. I was a new grad RN and was not able to clear the licensure on my first attempt and I really needed to start working so I put studying aside for some time and then covid hit. I again was not able to get back to studying and 3 years went by super quick leaving my evidence or practice and language efficiency expired. In Ontario a new SPEP program was started basically a new way to meet evidence of practice and language proficiency by completing 140hrs at a clinical placement. I had done great but my preceptor was horrible and there was no teaching on her part she expected me to know everything. I even voiced this to the SPEP department at the hospital but they did not care. She did not clear me for safe practice (when I literally did all the cares myself while she sat back and socialized and took extra breaks). CNO cleared me for evidence of practice and language efficiency however they removed my "character conduct and health declaration" from met to unmet! I even explained to CNO there are cameras everywhere in hospital I did all the work while preceptor did absolutely nothing! But again CNO did not care and instructed me to complete a refresher course. There was no specific number of courses nor a specific number of placement hours in the letter. All it said was just to send a transcript, reference signed letter from preceptor and signed evaluation upon completion. So I looked for a school that offered the least amount of courses and placement hours which was a private school called Bay College in Toronto. They offer a refresher course that includes courses and practicum placement 200hrs (and more if you need). Many people have been cleared by CNO through this college. I suggest looking into them if u need a refresher I completed everything in 3-4 months. If you look at George Brown's refresher program it is too in depth and unnecessarily long like 18 months…(although if you need least minimum courses and placement hours you can have it completed in 5-6months but most people have a requirement from CNO wanting 400hrs plus a certain amount of courses, thank goodness for me there was no set number). So yes look into Bay College in Toronto for a nursing refresher before you look into other colleges such as George Brown.