What to do after SEC assessment?

[AVKON]

Hello to everyone.

I am a Registered Nurse in the Philippines with one year experience in the Operating Room and 3 months experience in the General Medical/Surgical ward (prior to being assigned in the OR). I have filed my application with CRNBC and I have done my IELTS already.

Last week, I received a letter from CRNBC stating that for CRNBC to continue assessing my application, I must take a SEC assessment test (nursinginbc.ca).

My original plan was to apply for a Work Permit/BC PNP after I get my job offer after CRNBC states that I am eligible to write the CRNE. However, since CRNBC will not be able to assess me until I take the SEC, my plan is now all messed up.

I know what the SEC is about, what worries me is how to go about this. Obviously, I will have to go to Canada sometime this year (my deadline is Dec. 10, 2009) and take my SEC, probably on a Tourist Visa. What to do AFTER the SEC assessment is what bothers me. Kwantlen U. said it will take them 3-8 weeks to release my results, and CRNBC sait it will take them 1-2 months to assess the results. If I fail, I would have to take some coursework and retake the SEC, if I pass I would then be eligible to write the CRNE. The timeframe between CRNBC assessing my results and, assuming I pass, declare that I am qualified to write the CRNE is vague.

So why is this troublesome? Obviously, I will have to STAY in BC while I wait out how all these events work out. Going back home to the Philippines would not be financially sound; I cannot imagine going back and forth to Canada without putting my family into serious debt. So I am stuck in Canada WITHOUT work for AT LEAST 3 months.

To IENs who have to take the SEC, what are your plans? What do you plan to do as you wait out the results of this process?

To CRNBC and other regulating bodies, I know why you have to do this, but would it not be better if SEC were offered OUTSIDE Canada as well? Or maybe somewhere else along the application process, maybe after getting 350+ hours of supervised work? Do you know you are asking IENs to travel to Canada to take the SEC without secure employment or even permission to work? Please know that the fare alone to Canada is no small change for those of us in developing countries, at least assuring us that this can be a ONE TIME expense with work at the end of the line for us to pay off unavoidable debts would be a step in the right direction.

To immigration and visa experts, what do I have to do to be able to find and do work in Canada for these months? Can I apply for a Work Permit when I have an employer? Obviously I cannot work in the hospital, but any work for proper pay is fine, so long as the work (and my stay) is legal and the pay is proper. If I need to do coursework, will I have to appy for a Student Visa as well?

Thank you very much for your time.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

As silverdragon102 has said, Canadian nursing education produces nurses who are generalists and can, with the appropriate orientation, work in any area of nursing. The reasons for this approach have already been explained, but in summary, Canada is a very large country with a small population. Many communities are several hours' drive from the nearest major centre and the nearest tertiary care hospital. Nurses working in rural hospitals may stitch up a trauma patient in the morning, deliver a baby in the afternoon, defuse a suicidal teenager in the evening and comfort a dying great-grandma at night. In northern nursing stations, the nurse IS the health care provider... no handy physicians sitting around drinking coffee. So Canadian nursing education programmes must turn out nurses who are minimally prepared for anything.

Your education and experience are not being devalued; our standards are being followed. That is all. You may have more success learning what coursework is provided to local students by contacting any of the universities in BC and requesting a syllabus. For maternity, they will be testing you on your knowledge of normal pregnancy and sommon complications, normal labour and delivery, normal newborn appearance and behaviour, common complications for both mother and baby, and postpartum care for both. For mental health, the focus will be on therapeutic communication, common DSM-IV diagnoses, knowledge of psychotropic medications and adjunctive therapies and their side-effects, terminology and very superficial understanding of the Mental Health Act. There is no actual hands-on examination; it is entirely situation/scenario based with critical thinking and basic knowledge base testing. There is no pass-fail either. If your performance doesn't meet requirements you will be given a learning plan to bring you up to minimum preparation. With all your experience, even maternity will not be a difficult topic to review. And because of your experience, your transition into the working world here will be easy once you've gotten your ducks in a row.

Best wishes on a successful assessment and a swift completion of the remainder of the process.

[shubichilipepper]

hi!

I'm new here in the forum. As I was reading all your posts, It seems that all those who have applied for assessment of their credentials in CRNBC for an eligibility are required to have the SEC, as implemented beginning this year.

I'm planning to send all the needed requirements for assessment in CRNBC,do I have a greater chance to be eligible without having a SEC exam? As mentioned, its a case to case basis, as the credentials are assessed individually but then it was pointed also that those applicants who does'nt have their hospital experience yet and graduated within the 5 years were given the eligibility.I have my BSN degree in 2007 and no hospital experience yet. How true is that?

Does the SEC requirement gives an applicant a timeframe wherein they can comply with the said assessment test? If yes, how long?

Please shed light on this. Thanks in Advance!

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

The need for an SEC assessment relates to the education one received. Canada's nurses are all generalists, meaning they've been trained in the basics of all five main nursing subspecialties of pediatrics, medicine, surgery, mental health and maternal-child. This has all been posted before. If the education programme you have taken does not include enough of either lecture or clinical in any (or all) of these areas, or if CRNBC cannot assess your education simply from the documentation provided, you will have to do SEC. No way around it.

There doesn't seem to be a time limit for completion of the SEC. Kwantlen College is the assessor and they will arrange your SEC at your convenience. Did you read the sticky on the SEC: FAQ - Substantially Equivalent Competence (SEC) Assessmentsand did you read through the dozen or so pages of information for IENs on the CRNBC website: http://www.crnbc.ca/RegRenewal/Applying/InternatApplicant.aspx ? If you haven't I'd ask you to do so.

[shubichilipepper]

Thank you so much janfrn!!

[Ikang_714]

Hello everyone! I need some help...particularly help in interpreting something.

This is regards to the SEC Assessment results...

In the Assessment Guide it states...

Following your assessment, the results will be sent to CRNBC and you can expect to hear from CRNBC in about 3-5 weeks. Please note that the nurse consultant/assessors will not be discussing your performance with you during or after your SEC assessment.

Does that mean, the day after I finish my assessment, I can start counting the 3-5 weeks and I will hopefully hear from CRNBC during that period of time?

Or after CRNBC receives the results, then the 3-5weeks counting begins?

Sorry, I'm a bit O.C. I really get into details..so please help!

Thank you.

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

I would expect that to mean that once CRNBC gets the results you'll hear from them in 3-5 weeks. There's no way to predict how long it'll take Kwantlen to get the results to CRNBC, although one would hope it would be fairly quickly done, so CRNBC can't really promise anything out of ther own control, right?

[sabrino76]

Has anyone taken SEC assessment and been asked to take remedial or bridging courses so far? Please share your experiences

[wahine888, LPN, LVN]

I just got the letter from CRNBC stating that I need to undergo the SEC assessment (Med-Surg Area) and it seem all of us are anxious about the waiting time between the assessment and getting the result. And the anxiety does not stop there. There is also the upgrading courses and the CRNE of course.

To those who have accomplished all these requirements to become an RN in Canada, I'm sure a lot of us will appreciate if you share your story.

[atzrn]

I just got the letter from CRNBC stating that I need to undergo the SEC assessment (Med-Surg Area) and it seem all of us are anxious about the waiting time between the assessment and getting the result. And the anxiety does not stop there. There is also the upgrading courses and the CRNE of course.

To those who have accomplished all these requirements to become an RN in Canada, I'm sure a lot of us will appreciate if you share your story.

wow! congrats! At least now, you know what is next....

[wahine888, LPN, LVN]

@atzrn Thanks! What's the update with your application? Isn't it that we applied almost at the same time? Next step for me is to apply for Temporary Resident Visa.

[imokfurok]

hi everyone,

i have just received a notice from crnbc requiring me to undergo a sec assessment on one area: (general medical/surgical nursing) at kwantlen polythecnic university and also i got an email form the in-charge person in kwantlen asking me my range of dates for scheduling my assessment, since i am presently in singapore working as a nurse i believe i need to aquire a visa first for me to go to canada before i can give my shed dates. and so i have been reading all the comments in this tread and got a lot of info's. thanks to the experts on this site..you really help nurses with your infos. i have learned that its not easy be a nurse in canada, i need to invest a lot of effort, time and money to meet the standards of being a nurse in canada. honeslty i am willing to do so but i want to know what are my chances. is it worth pursuing this application?

i hope you can help me with some of my questions.

1. what are the % chance of an applicant like me in sec assessment? do they always require you to upgrade yourself by taking courses?

2. with my required area (gen. med./surg. nursing), what advise can you give me on what to expect on the assessment or perhaps you could share some sources for me to check and study to prepare myself.

3. (i may need to check with canadian embassy on this question but i was hoping that there are those of you who have experienced it and can share some info's) what visa should i apply for or what does the embassy ussually issue or a sec applicant like me? is it always visit visa or i hoping a working visa so i can work there temporaryly while on the process.

is there something that you can advise or help international applicants while waiting for the process (since most of us have the same concerns) esp. me i dont have any relatives to stay to in canada.

4. kwantlen polytechnic university is offering me to participate in a study they are conducting (comparing the use of high fidelity simulation(using computerized mannequin) with the use of conventional stadardized patients in one of the assessment process) is is wise to join it? what could be the advantages / disadvanntages?

i hope you can help me, thanks and best regards

[NotReady4PrimeTime, RN]

1. what are the % chance of an applicant like me in sec assessment? do they always require you to upgrade yourself by taking courses?

no, what they're assessing is the combination of education and experience that nurses accrue in the course of their work. they require sec if they're unable to evaluate your nursing school educational preparation adequately and acknowledge that learning in nursing doesn't end at convocation. someone who has been working in a med-surg environment for a few years will have learned many things not taught in school. please read faq - substantially equivalent competence (sec) assessments for more insight into how the process works. no one can give you a prediction on your success.

2. with my required area (gen. med./surg. nursing), what advise can you give me on what to expect on the assessment or perhaps you could share some sources for me to check and study to prepare myself.

again, read through faq - substantially equivalent competence (sec) assessments .

3. (i may need to check with canadian embassy on this question but i was hoping that there are those of you who have experienced it and can share some info's) what visa should i apply for or what does the embassy ussually issue or a sec applicant like me? is it always visit visa or i hoping a working visa so i can work there temporaryly while on the process.

is there something that you can advise or help international applicants while waiting for the process (since most of us have the same concerns) esp. me i dont have any relatives to stay to in canada.

it's unlikely that you'll be able to get a working visa due to the regulations surrounding skilled workers and a temporary resident visa won't allow you to work. it's a catch-22. (not that it's likely you could find work in the short period of time actually required for the sec since human resources departments are very slow to move on most things. unless you were planning on being a cleaner or a nanny.) then there's the changes being made to immigration regulations that are tightening up everything that most of us here have no knowledge of. your best bet is to contact the embassy.

4. kwantlen polytechnic university is offering me to participate in a study they are conducting (comparing the use of high fidelity simulation(using computerized mannequin) with the use of conventional stadardized patients in one of the assessment process) is is wise to join it? what could be the advantages / disadvanntages?

i would think there would be little direct effect on you if you chose to participate. it might make you more memorable in some people's minds, but the purpose of the study would be to improve the process for future candidates. i can't see any real disadvantages.

good luck with your endeavor. you're already prepared for the worst, it seems. you're correct that it isn't easy for iens to become nurses in canada. those who want it badly enough will succeed.