Trying to find Ontario colleges that offer RN refresher courses/clinical placements

[want to practice]

I am a B.Sc.N. graduate that has not practiced for over 5 years due to having 3 young children. Now I am in the process of trying to reinstate my RN license under the CNO - College of Nurses of Ontario. The CNO requires 8 theory based courses and 200 hours clinical and 200 hours consolidation. The CNO has not been very helpful in this process.

I was able to find a college that offers some of the courses by correspondence - St. Lawrence College. Unfortunately they do not offer the clinical/consolidation component due to the fact that I do not have an current RN license. Mohawk College was another option, but they do not offer correspondence/on line courses, only in class. I live just outside the GTA (greater Toronto area) and the Mohawk program is in the Hamilton/Halton area which is too far of a distance to be practical for me. Mohawk college will offer the clinical component if they are satisfied with the courses that I take at St. Lawrence college, but unfortunately they only offer the clinical in the spring of next year!

Unfortunately, the 2 colleges I have found do not offer all the courses that are required by the CNO. Neither college offers the Gerontology and the Cultural context/transcultural nursing? courses needed to fulfull the CNO's required theory elements to get my RN license reinstated. I have found Gerontology and Cultural context/transcultural nursing courses but they are only offered to nurses who have a current RN license!

I really want to start practicing as a RN soon but the process of trying to get there has been very frustrating.

Has anyone experienced this or are also going through this same process? Does anyone know of any other colleges in Ontario that offer the RN refresher course that the CNO requires?

Please help!

[madricka, BSN, RN]

1 minute ago, new graduate said:

hi does anyone here have any update or any advice having gone through the process?  I am a new graduate who graduated in 2014 and moved away from ontario due to being married and I was able to do a camp nurse job in 2018 and I am looking at my options to either a refresher program or a supervised placement and I just need someone to talk to

I did it. What did you want to know? FYI, you can’t just do a refresher course. You need to apply for registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario. They will then send you a letter outlining what you need to fulfill their requirements to practice nursing in Ontario. One of those requirements will be courses and clinical placement. This is usually about 8-10 courses plus 400+hrs of clinical placement. Once you have that letter of direction you can then apply to a community college to do the required courses/clinical. It takes roughly 4-5 semesters to complete the requirements. Once done it takes several months for the school to forward documentation to the CNO & for them to process everything. The entire thing will take a few years & is pretty expensive. I think it’s worth it. The time will pass either way.

I did the courses/clinical through George Brown College in Toronto. It’s the same program IEN take. Good program, nice people.

Feel free to ask more questions. 
 

[new graduate]

hi madricka, thank you so much for your response I am so grateful, I just don't have anyone to talk to in the same situation as me and when I call the college I don't find them very helpful and I've been so stressed and I am so glad to have someone to talk to.  

  last time I called they said I am still eligible to work, but I am just wondering if anyone would hire me as I don't have a lot of experience, only a 2 month camp nurse job which ended august 2018, so in august 2021 three years would have passed.

I was just wondering how much did it cost you? also how much experience did you have when you did the program?  they now have an option of a supervised placement in the CNO website but you have to apply for it, but I wonder how they judge you and which option they would want you to take?

  4 or 5 semesters is a long time for 8-10 courses, how many courses could you take a semester? is it possible to take 4 courses a semester? and finish it in a year?

[madricka, BSN, RN]

2 minutes ago, new graduate said:

hi madricka, thank you so much for your response I am so grateful, I just don't have anyone to talk to in the same situation as me and when I call the college I don't find them very helpful and I've been so stressed and I am so glad to have someone to talk to.  

  last time I called they said I am still eligible to work, but I am just wondering if anyone would hire me as I don't have a lot of experience, only a 2 month camp nurse job which ended august 2018, so in august 2021 three years would have passed.

I was just wondering how much did it cost you? also how much experience did you have when you did the program?  they now have an option of a supervised placement in the CNO website but you have to apply for it, but I wonder how they judge you and which option they would want you to take?

  4 or 5 semesters is a long time for 8-10 courses, how many courses could you take a semester? is it possible to take 4 courses a semester? and finish it in a year?

I was previously working full time in critical care before I was injured & away from nursing (graduated with BScN in 2007 & started working immediately). I was away from nursing for 3yrs & 2 weeks and CNO made me do refresher. I did refresher at George Brown in 2017-2018 & started working in ICU in Jan 2019. 

Doing the fresher is pricey. Each course between $350-450. Clinical placements are only 200hrs per semester & cost around $1500-1700 a semester. Plus textbooks, scrubs & other misc costs. 
You cannot finish all the courses in a year. They are not hard but very time consuming. There are pre-requisites for some courses & not all are offered every semester (plus they fill up fast). Clinical cannot be done until certain courses are completed (ie most of the theory ones) & you can only do 200hrs in each semester. I finished in 4 semesters (2 semesters just theory courses & 2 semesters of clinical). You also have to consider work/family obligations. There is a LOT of work in these courses/clinical (reading, assignments, essays, group work, etc). 

I cannot comment on the CNO placement, I know nothing about it. 

As for finding work with just camp nursing, you wouldn’t get hired in a hospital for sure. You may find work in LTC. 

[madricka, BSN, RN]

22 minutes ago, new graduate said:

hi madricka, thank you so much for your response I am so grateful, I just don't have anyone to talk to in the same situation as me and when I call the college I don't find them very helpful and I've been so stressed and I am so glad to have someone to talk to.  

  last time I called they said I am still eligible to work, but I am just wondering if anyone would hire me as I don't have a lot of experience, only a 2 month camp nurse job which ended august 2018, so in august 2021 three years would have passed.

I was just wondering how much did it cost you? also how much experience did you have when you did the program?  they now have an option of a supervised placement in the CNO website but you have to apply for it, but I wonder how they judge you and which option they would want you to take?

  4 or 5 semesters is a long time for 8-10 courses, how many courses could you take a semester? is it possible to take 4 courses a semester? and finish it in a year?

BTW, I should point out I am only talking about the program at George Brown. Other colleges might do it differently. But that was my experience 2yrs ago. 

[new graduate]

wow that took a very long time! so how many courses did you do a semester? so you did all the theory work first and then all the clinical after?

that sounds like brutal, school full time again, what do you think about mental health nursing, I am actually interested in that, do you think I would have a shot there?  I would also be willing to work in long term care, but I just wonder what kind of things I would be doing there.

at this point I am willing to work anywhere as a nurse to be honest.  

[madricka, BSN, RN]

Just now, new graduate said:

wow that took a very long time! so how many courses did you do a semester? so you did all the theory work first and then all the clinical after?

that sounds like brutal, school full time again, what do you think about mental health nursing, I am actually interested in that, do you think I would have a shot there?  I would also be willing to work in long term care, but I just wonder what kind of things I would be doing there.

at this point I am willing to work anywhere as a nurse to be honest.  

I did 3-4 courses a semester, depending on availability. I think I did one theory course that was allowed to be taken during clinical. Some are lighter than others. Some are very heavy & a LOT of work. For example, “Nursing in Ontario” wasn’t too bad. Mostly reading with a few assignments/exams. But “Pharmacology” & “Health Assessment” were WAY heavier in terms of content, reading, essays, exams, group work, presentations, etc. So you also need to consider that or you will overload a semester & burn out. But yeah, pretty much like university all over again. Not fun. 

And yeah, they required theory courses be completed before you can do clinical (with a few courses that can be taken during clinical but very few, like one or two, most had to be done before). It makes sense though, you kinda need to do pharmacology & health assessment & stuff first. 

I think the Centennial refresher program is more geared towards mental health if that’s your thing. And they do clinical at the same time as theory. When I was researching different schools before I remember not choosing them because of that. I needed something more acute care hospital-based because I was planning to return to critical care.

I don’t think you could work in mental health nursing without experience in that area. I could be wrong but most places want you to have some kind of experience. No disrespect to you but no one would count your camp nursing experience. So on paper you haven’t done anything nurse-wise since you graduated 6-7yrs ago. Again, I’m not disrespecting you at all, life happens. I’m just speaking from a practical standpoint. I’m not going to sugarcoat things & waste your time. 

LTC nursing is caring for geriatric & disabled population. So basic nursing care: meds, baths, personal care, ambulation, assessments, etc. Nothing fancy. Different focus from acute care nursing. 

One last thing, CNO is SLOW! So you submit fees/docs, they take forever to assess. 

 

 

[new graduate]

I think the centenniel program sounds quite good to me if they are geared towards mental health, I did an online mental health RN/RPN continuing professional education course in Durham College, I wonder if the college would take into consideration courses I have taken lately.  do you know if the centenial program is any cheaper or shorter?

no I do not think you are disrespecting me, I know what you are saying is true because I think the same thing.  I do not mind working in LTC, I am currently living in UK but want to go back to work for a while so I don't lose  my current registration.  I am working here with the geriatric and disabled population doing home care, basic things like you you described, give meds to some of them, personal care, ambulation etc

I wonder what my chances are to get a long term care job.  I feel quite over my head in all this now.  

[madricka, BSN, RN]

9 minutes ago, new graduate said:

I think the centenniel program sounds quite good to me if they are geared towards mental health, I did an online mental health RN/RPN continuing professional education course in Durham College, I wonder if the college would take into consideration courses I have taken lately.  do you know if the centenial program is any cheaper or shorter?

no I do not think you are disrespecting me, I know what you are saying is true because I think the same thing.  I do not mind working in LTC, I am currently living in UK but want to go back to work for a while so I don't lose  my current registration.  I am working here with the geriatric and disabled population doing home care, basic things like you you described, give meds to some of them, personal care, ambulation etc

I wonder what my chances are to get a long term care job.  I feel quite over my head in all this now.  

I didn’t mean to overwhelm you!

I think the Centennial program is shorter (a year, I think). No idea if it’s cheaper. They might give you credit for courses if taken relatively recently. GBC waived a few courses for me because of my work experience (ie. they didn’t make me take basic emergency management). 

I think you could likely get a job in LTC here. You have relevant experience & the LTC facilities here are desperate for staff. Actually, everywhere here is desperate for staff. But because you don’t need acute care experience to work in LTC, your chances are much better there. 
It might mean taking a less desirable job at first & then working towards transitioning to something you would prefer later. Or you could do the program at Centennial (or wherever) & get the education/experience you need to go into your preferred area straight away. Lots to consider. 

[new graduate]

its not you who overwhelmed me, I've been feeling overwhelmed by this for a very long time.  do you know where I can find information about the program at centenniel? I did a search for it and could not find anything.  Do you think its possible they no longer offer it, or perhaps because I am searching from the UK, the search engine isn't giving me the best search results

[madricka, BSN, RN]

2 minutes ago, new graduate said:

its not you who overwhelmed me, I've been feeling overwhelmed by this for a very long time.  do you know where I can find information about the program at centenniel? I did a search for it and could not find anything.  Do you think its possible they no longer offer it, or perhaps because I am searching from the UK, the search engine isn't giving me the best search results

I can’t add links here but the Centennial College program is called, “Bridging to University Nursing - IEN”. If you read the program description it specifically stated it is not just for IEN’s but also for domestic students needing to refresh. My prog at GBC was the same. There is no separate program that is an RN refresher. They put you in with IEN’s because the courses are the same for both. I just looked & it is 2 semesters. Fees are listed at the bottom, roughly $3500 for the 2 semesters. Everything is listed on the program page.

 

[new graduate]

oh thank you so much, that sounds like a much better option, but still a bit more expensive than I hoped, but again I think its worth a shot.  I wonder if the CNO would expect me to do everything. they say the CNO would give you a letter of direction, telling you what to do, do you think you could tell me more of your experience with that?

[madricka, BSN, RN]

2 minutes ago, new graduate said:

oh thank you so much, that sounds like a much better option, but still a bit more expensive than I hoped, but again I think its worth a shot.  I wonder if the CNO would expect me to do everything. they say the CNO would give you a letter of direction, telling you what to do, do you think you could tell me more of your experience with that?

Not much to tell. You apply for registration with the CNO & pay the fee. They send you a letter with the list of things they require (ie. proof you did nursing program, ID, police clearance, English language proficiency, etc). One of those things will be evidence that you practiced nursing in the last 3yrs. If yes, they will process your application & you will be registered to work. If no or you are unable to provide proof, they will give you instruction on how to fulfill that requirement. Specifically they will say theory courses that cover certain topics (pharmacology, health assessment, computers, geriatrics, etc) plus give a specific number of clinical hours you must complete. I’ve seen the range between 200-600hrs, most ppl have to do 400hrs. Once you provide all the documentation in that letter & pay all the fees, they will register you & you can start working as an RN.