U.S. to Canada?

fergus51 · Sep 5, 2004

You would have to take the Canadian nursing exam, it is written 4 times a year. You would have to register with the board of nursing in the province you want to work in to sign up for the exam. Ontario is CNO (http://www.cno.org I believe and it should have links to other provinces' bons). You may not be able to work in certain province's without a BSN. You would have to contact their board of nursing to see how the new requirements affect you.

Immigration is fairly easy thanks to NAFTA. All you have to do is have proof of your nursing education/lisence and job offer letter and you can get a visa at the border. You can look at Canadian hospitals by going to http://www.hospitalsoup.com and clicking on the Canadian hospitals link, then typing in the city you are interested in. Do you have a particular area in mind?

fawnsternurse · Sep 9, 2004

Thanks Fergus!

I will defintely look into this and certainly appreciate the information. I was thinking about Toronto which is a city I really love!

Have a great day! :)

paddi · Sep 10, 2004

You would have to take the Canadian nursing exam, it is written 4 times a year. You would have to register with the board of nursing in the province you want to work in to sign up for the exam. Ontario is CNO (www.cno.org I believe and it should have links to other provinces' bons). You may not be able to work in certain province's without a BSN. You would have to contact their board of nursing to see how the new requirements affect you.
Immigration is fairly easy thanks to NAFTA. All you have to do is have proof of your nursing education/lisence and job offer letter and you can get a visa at the border. You can look at Canadian hospitals by going to www.hospitalsoup.com and clicking on the Canadian hospitals link, then typing in the city you are interested in. Do you have a particular area in mind?

Dear Fergus51.

I am an OR RN, passed CRON on Aug 26, and hope to become RNFA, starting on Sep 10, 04; with 15 yrs as OR Cardio-thoracic nurse .

what are the chances of getting good jobs in Canada as an RNFA.

bye for now victor

fergus51 · Sep 11, 2004

Victor, I don't believe we even have such a position. I had never heard of RNFAs in Canada. You would be able to work as an OR nurse, and have NO problem getting work. With your experience hospitals would probably fight over you:)

lalaxton · Sep 13, 2004

Actually there are RNFA's in Ontario. I'm not sure but I believe the first one started working at Hamilton Health Sciences. They do have a professional association here, it is an interest group of the RNAO (Registered Nurses association of Ontario). Not sure if you can contact them through the RNAO website but that address is http://www.rnao.org.

lalaxton · Sep 13, 2004

Here's a link to a short article on RNFA's in Canada I just found...

http://www.oha.com/oha/perspec.nsf/0/d393c03e7c75e92085256ba3006b3bdb?OpenDocument

fergus51 · Sep 13, 2004

Wow, thanks lalaxton. I have never heard of it. My hospital in Toronto isn't part of the program I suppose. Nice to see the government investing in nurse education and expanding the roles of advanced practice nurses. I would love to see NPs, CNMs and CRNAs used in Canada like they are in the US!!! It's one area where I think we really lag behind the US.

Sarah, RNBScN · Sep 13, 2004

HEre is another site to check:

http://www.MedHunters.com

Re: RNFA. We have one at our hopsital who recently graduated with this certificate from BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology). She took the course via distance education/online. Check out: http://www.campusaccess.com for college/university programs.

She works as a nurse assist in the OR only. She does not have billing purposes at this time because she now has to log so many hours as first assist. Once she has her hours, she will have to go to the states and write an exam to be fully licensed within this scope of practice. Apparently, ONA (Ontario Nurses Association) is not sure where to categorize RNFA since it is a certificate not a degree like a BScN or NP. Anyway, they will have to look at our central agreement contract first since we've been working without one since March....

Hope this helps.

gchelak · Sep 14, 2004

Hello, I am a U.S., associate degree R.N. living in Buffalo. How difficult would it be to be able to work in Canada? Find a job? Do I have to retake the exam? Any input would be appreciated. I have always LOVED Canada and every once in awhile I toy with this idea but never follow up with it basically because I am not sure how it would work.
Thanks again!

I am replying to give you more info about the "new requirements" and the BSN degrees

Someone responded to your previous question: "You may not be able to work in certain province's without a BSN. You would have to contact their board of nursing to see how the new requirements affect you."

The good news it that the new requirements of having to be a BSN to take the Canadian boards SHOULDN'T apply to you because according to the Alberta Nursing board (I am only assuming that all of the provinces are following the same regulations), you will already BE an RN (albeit an ADN not a BSN) when you enter the country. The rule as far as I know is for new graduates only.

Let us know what you find - Ontario may be different because they have had this rule in effect for a while now and Alberta has not yet gotten approval.

Gail

lalaxton · Sep 14, 2004

Wow, thanks lalaxton. I have never heard of it. My hospital in Toronto isn't part of the program I suppose. Nice to see the government investing in nurse education and expanding the roles of advanced practice nurses. I would love to see NPs, CNMs and CRNAs used in Canada like they are in the US!!! It's one area where I think we really lag behind the US.

I certainly agree with you on this one fergus!

madore57 · Oct 21, 2004

I am replying to give you more info about the "new requirements" and the BSN degrees
Someone responded to your previous question: "You may not be able to work in certain province's without a BSN. You would have to contact their board of nursing to see how the new requirements affect you."
The good news it that the new requirements of having to be a BSN to take the Canadian boards SHOULDN'T apply to you because according to the Alberta Nursing board (I am only assuming that all of the provinces are following the same regulations), you will already BE an RN (albeit an ADN not a BSN) when you enter the country. The rule as far as I know is for new graduates only.
Let us know what you find - Ontario may be different because they have had this rule in effect for a while now and Alberta has not yet gotten approval.
Gail

Last I read on the College of Nurses of Ontario's website, this is still under discussion. The expectation is that all foreign educated Nurses will have a BSN/BSCN in order to practice in Ontario. However this has proved to be a problem for many foreign trained Nurses already working here. So there was discussion of grandfathering them in as well. All RN's from other Provinces in Canada do get grandfathered in in Ontario but I doubt that new incoming foreign trained Nurses (experienced or not) will be accepted without a Univeristy Degree. Let us know if you find things have changed.

Eilleen.