UK nurse > Canada

[charleighb]

Hi everybody,

This question has probably been asked here a million times. I am a 26 year old UK nurse I currently work in A&E in Northern Ireland where I aldo treat paeds. Recently I have been considering starting the immigration process to Canada.

I understand I need to register with regulatory body of where I want to practice. I really fancied Quebec but I cannot speak French. So now I would like to go to Ontario or BC.

Once I have paid to have my qualifications assessed where do I go from there?

Is the next step NCLEX? Or do the board put you forward for that?

I understand it's a long hard slog to get into Canada but the state of nursing in UK now is awful.

Thanks in advance I know this is probably like a broken record.

[madricka, BSN, RN]

In Ontario you would have to submit an application for registration with the College of Nurses of Ontario -- they would then assess your application and send you a letter outlining what you are expected to do in order to meet their minimum requirements to practice. Since your education/experience are outside of Canada, you might be expected to attend an educational program to fill in any gaps they feel you may have (this is quite common so expect it). From what I have heard, the process takes at least 2 years from the time you submit your application. This is on top of immigration applications and such. I wouldn't take any further steps until you receive your letter from the College of Nurses of Ontario, they will give you a detailed outline of what is expected before you are permitted to register with them. It's not impossible, just slow-going.

[charleighb]

Thanks for that the wait time is what I expected. If I had to do a bridging course would that be attending uni in canada full time?

[dishes, BSN, RN]

The first step for IENs is to apply to National Nursing Assessment Services (NNAS) to have their education assessed for equivalency to a Canadian BSN. It takes several months for the NNAS assessment to be completed, the education may deemed comparable, partially comparable or not comparable. After NNAS results are received applicants apply to the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). CNO may require the applicant to complete a Competency Assessment Supplement (CAS), a/o Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE). It takes a long time to complete all of these assessments and some applicants must return to school. Be prepared to spend time and money on the assesment process and do not come to Canada before you know whether or not you will qualify to be licensed.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

Thanks for that the wait time is what I expected. If I had to do a bridging course would that be attending uni in canada full time?

Yes and some of the programs such as York University IEN bridging program receive hundreds more applications than they have seats and the wait lists are years long.

[madricka, BSN, RN]

Thanks for that the wait time is what I expected. If I had to do a bridging course would that be attending uni in canada full time?

There are part-time programs -- George Brown College in Toronto has one.

[charleighb]

I think it's really complex. Wonder if there is a way to work part time to support yourself through university whilst living in Canada. I was thinking of also applying to international experience canada first to see whether I like Toronto area 1st

[dishes, BSN, RN]

It is difficult to support yourself and work part time in a minium wage job in Ontario. The international experience is mostly working on farms doing hard labour, not spending time in Toronto.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to International Nursing forum

you could look at IEC however you can not work as a nurse until meeting all requirements of the college. If you come on a student visa then it must be full time and there are restrictions on working

suggest a good read on the CIC website as well as here

[dishes, BSN, RN]

If you come on a student visa then it must be full time and there are restrictions on working

Part of the admission requirements for the IEN bridging programs are 'must be a resident of Ontario'.

[charleighb]

How can you be a resident of ontario if you need a student visa to do the course? I don't qualify for work visa as haven't got the course but won't qualify for student either.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

How can you be a resident of ontario if you need a student visa to do the course? I don't qualify for work visa as haven't got the course but won't qualify for student either.

You cannot do the bridging courses on a student visa. There are hundreds of IENs who are permanent residents in Ontario, who are applicants to the IEN bridge programs, they either immigrated to Ontario or came over on live-in-caregiver programs and applied for permanent residency.