Which Canadian provinces still accept DPL Graduates in 2009?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Sep 24, 2007

The only provinces still maintaining a diploma in nursing program are Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. Alberta will no longer allow diploma graduates to write the CRNE by 2010. The CARNA website says that as long as the individual has completed their educational program by Dec 31, 2009 they're good to go. (Not in so many words of course!) Manitoba has no specified end date for acceptance of the diploma at this point in time, but anything can change... Quebec is a distinctly different kettle of fish. (Tongue firmly in cheek!) Unless you're fluently bilingual in all spheres of French and English you might as well not go there. Now, the bigger fly in the ointment for you is that you're being educated in the US so you'll have to have an educational assessment done for substantive equivalency before you'll be allowed to write the exam. And I believe the expectation is that you'll be licensed in the state where you trained before you apply. I've worked in both Manitoba and Alberta, and I'll tell you now that they will nickel and dime you to death before you get any kind of valuable information regarding the status of your application out of them. And they drag their feet. So prepare yourself for a long process. I wish you good luck... come back for a shoulder anytime!

rhp123 · Sep 24, 2007

Thank you so much for such useful information.

The program I'm currently in is a very rigiorous program, and is clinical-oriented. Even the first semester, I have twice as much clinical time as my friends who are in a community college ADN program nearby. I'm confident about passing the evaluation process, as long as I study hard to be able to graduate.

The only provinces still maintaining a diploma in nursing program are Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta. Alberta will no longer allow diploma graduates to write the CRNE by 2010. The CARNA website says that as long as the individual has completed their educational program by Dec 31, 2009 they're good to go. (Not in so many words of course!) Manitoba has no specified end date for acceptance of the diploma at this point in time, but anything can change... Quebec is a distinctly different kettle of fish. (Tongue firmly in cheek!) Unless you're fluently bilingual in all spheres of French and English you might as well not go there. Now, the bigger fly in the ointment for you is that you're being educated in the US so you'll have to have an educational assessment done for substantive equivalency before you'll be allowed to write the exam. And I believe the expectation is that you'll be licensed in the state where you trained before you apply. I've worked in both Manitoba and Alberta, and I'll tell you now that they will nickel and dime you to death before you get any kind of valuable information regarding the status of your application out of them. And they drag their feet. So prepare yourself for a long process. I wish you good luck... come back for a shoulder anytime!

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Sep 24, 2007

I think it's great that your program is so clinically oriented. For the most part the degree programs aren't. Those students get very little exposure to the "real world" of nursing and are very often overwhelmed by the workload and responsibility when they get out into the workforce. (Just read some of the threads in the First Year folder!) It will be an advantage to you to have lots of clinical hours behind you; the regulatory bodies won't necessarily view it that way though. And if you later want to move up the food chain you'll need at least a BSN.

RNGrad2006 · Sep 24, 2007

Dear RHP123,

What JanRN has written is true. I am a Canadian citizen but went to school in the US to get my ADN and had my education assessed just in case I ever went back to BC and wanted to know what my options were. I applied in 2006 with the CRNBC so not sure if it has changed since then but they accepted my ADN as roughly equivalent and am entitled to take the exam. But I had to submit a long appeal as to why I felt I was entitled to take the exam. The catch in BC is that they require a Canadian work reference as an RN prior to registration and in order to get that you have to do a 250 hour supervised practice experience with a Canadian employer (which can be paid of course). I have not done it yet since we have applied for US residency and am currently working in Arizona but it is nice to have it as an option. I was told in BC that they have not made a stance quite as rigid as Ontario and that they consider individuals on a case by case basis but there are multiple fees to go through the process. Like I said before it may have changed since then though as that was over a year ago already. It took about 6 months to get my education assessed so the whole process can take upwards of a year but while you are waiting to take the exam in BC you can apply for a temporary licence until you get your exam results and start working. You absolutely have to take NCLEX before you can do anything though. At least in BC they expect you to have a licence from the state/country of where you were educated prior to getting registration. Where are you going to school?

It takes a lot of digging. If you are interested in the name of a contact in BC you can PM me. But in the meanwhile since my employer is supportive of tuition reimbursement I am taking a RN to BSN program in order to have options down the road should things get more rigid not only in Canada but also in the US. Always more opportunities available with the BSN completed. That is the nice part of working in the US as many employers have supportive tuition assistance programs. I am only taking one class every 8 weeks and it will take me just over 2 years to complete but it will be completely funded besides books and it is easy to fit in with my schedule at that pace.

Hope this helps,

RNGrad2006