uk educated nurse trying to register in ontario

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 28, 2012

The thing is canadian nurses are general trained and to be honest I think it is a good thing. I trained in the UK back in 86 as a ENG and bridged to RN 97 and was generral trained, I nursed Mental health patients on medical wards and think having a bit of mental health knowledge is an asset. You need to meet Canadian level and if that means being general trained then if you wish to work as a RN or even a LPN in Canada you have to be general trained. CNO do take several months and we have had a few members post on the long wait they have had. I seriously doubt that they will give you a license with restrictions if you are not general trained. I would expect them to say you requie some form of assessment.

Even with my transcripts in NS I had to make up some courses as did a couple of other UK nurses I have met but have also met UK nurses in NS that didn't have to make anything up

michellemck · Jan 28, 2012

thanks for the reply.

i understand that the system is the system and i chose to move here so i should shut up and put up. i have no problem undertaking more training to meet requirements. i am more annoyed at the length of time it has taken the CNO to assess my qualifications, only to tell me that i need more training! i could of done this in the meantime but there is no point in doing this until they tell me

a) if i need more training (which i suspect i do) and

b) what i need to study and how i go about doing this.

Hoped someone could shed some light on the case, if they had the same experience and had t re-train and how long that took. I will wait it out until they make a decision. Just didn't want blind sided when they reject my application. Having taken so long to assess (I think the have one guy at a desk doing this), I would of been pretty upset and disillusioned. At least now, I can brace myself! Thanks for the heads up though!

Fiona59 · Jan 28, 2012

Ontario is the most populated province Canada so their College's workload is huge. Especially with IENs trying to register.

I wouldn't hold Australia up as a shining example these days. They've been inundated with IENs from the the Phillipines and India and now they are complaining about how long it takes.

dishes, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2012

The answers to some of your questions are available on CNO's and OHA's websites

The CNO has 24 staff working on registration applications, I believe this information is in the fair registration practice reports on CNO's website.http://www.cno.org/en/become-a-nurse/

The CNO processes thousands of new registration applications, see summary of applicants from 2001-2010

http://www.cno.org/Global/docs/general/ApplicantsSummary.pdf

IENs require a letter of direction from CNO before they can be placed in a bridging program Home

Stories from IENs are available on Ontario Hospital Association's website Home

michellemck · Jan 28, 2012

Yeah, I have read the cno's annual reports and although they give an estimate for time taken to register for canadian RN's, they do not state a timeline for IEN's only that it can, and is likely to take longer. Their staffing levels are also stated though I still feel like it's one man and his dog :banghead:

I can only speak of my own experience with Australian registration. It was only 2 years ago and most of the hospitals could not function without IEN's there. My ward per example, was 80% foreign workers from UK, Phillipines, India, China etc. Possibly why their registration system functions more efficiently for such nurses.

Thanks for the input though!

dishes, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2012

CNO is not concerned about shortage/surplus cycles, they are only concerned about protecting the public by ensuring nurses are qualified to practice in Ontario. I understand your frustration, but I don't think there is much you can do about it, especially if the only ones answering CNO's phone are a man and his dog! Have you tried asking the dog what stage your application is at? Did you ask if WES completed the education equivalency assessment? Did the dog bark once for no and twice for yes?

michellemck · Jan 29, 2012

Well to be fair, it must be a lady and her dog! I take it she's my case manager and she always returns my emails. Don't think the dog cant type!

They are on the May 2011 queue, I am in the Aug 2011 caseload. I take it I am in the Aug queue as that is when they received everything they needed. Though they didn't ask me to give them said info until May 2011 but had my application since Jan 2011. When i emailed in Nov they were on the April caseload, now they are on May, so its slow going. What is WES? I assumed they would assess education and work experience together, when they get to my file.

michellemck · Jan 29, 2012

also, being from the UK and working most shifts short handed, I can tell you, I certainly was concerned with staff shortages. One nurse doing the job of 2 nurses is putting the the lives of patients at risk therefore a danger to the public so I think all governments and regulation boards should be concerned about these issues. I know from speaking to some friends here who are canadian trained nurses that they too face staff shortages and take on more responsibility than they really should. Again, this is my personal experience, I understand this may not be the case for every situation.

I'm sure this happens just about everywhere and if Canada did no have a shortage of skilled RN's then RN's wouldn't be on the federal skilled workers list, encouraging foreigners to apply to help ease the shortfall.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 29, 2012

Who knows if RN's will be on the list this year, the cap has already been filled for 2011 and was filled within 5 months of opening. Also be aware for immigration purposes you will be required to sit and pass a English or French language exam. Also many Canadian nurses in provinces like Alberta and Ontario have struggled to find work so not necessarily a shortage

michellemck · Jan 29, 2012

Yeah I have been in Canada for 2 years now though only recently got my PR. Initially applied under FSW visa, it's still sitting gathering dust somewhere in the UK office. Ended up applying for spouse visa, my fiance is canadian and got that within a few months. In hindsight, we should of just done that initally be hey ho! Would still be sitting here jobless and visaless otherwise! I must be lucky where I live, there are always RN jobs advertised (from hosptials to homecare) and I've already been offered work as an RN when I finally get registered. It may not be my dream job intially but it'll be a start, getting some Canadian experience. First hurdle - registration!

dishes, BSN, RN · Jan 31, 2012

Michelle

I am glad to hear your case manager is responding to your e-mails. Hopefully, the processing staff will pick up speed and you will have a response within the next few months. While you are waiting, I recommend you make a plan B, just in case you require upgrading. Look into the tuition costs of the various bridging programs and prepare a budget, if you do need help with tuition, consider applying for RBCs diversity in nursing fund for internationally educated nurses.

In answer to your question what is WES, it is World education services, a third party credentialing service that CNO uses to assess applicants' education.

dishes