who will need to undergo Substantially Equivalent Competency (SEC) assessment

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I would like to know if all international educated nurses have to undergo SEC assessment or only those having 3 years diploma ? or those having less experience or what ?

What exactly are the parameters on which CARNA decides if one has to go for SEC assessment before taking CRNE ?

can anybody please tell me ?

thanks.

are you suggesting that UK nurses are inferior

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what l posted here was merely my personal experience of the process and other foreign nurses who have been through the process can identify with this. the recruitment manager and nurse manager who are both Canadian and nurses have had very little good to say about the way SEC system is running in BC, mainly because decisions are not explained. there is very liitle in the way of contesting these decision and there is no knowing if they are objective or subjective.while l agree that measures need to be in place to ensure competent nurses are registered clearly the current system in designed for foreign nurses already resident in Canada and not nurses that the health boards come out to recruit in other countries.do not take my comments here to be some sort of personal attack and tell me to stay where l am,that is out of order!. i will accept constructive criticism but not anti or polarised sentiments.thank you for the other constructive posts about how the govt is funding this and how its subsidised,this is news to me and it makes me appreciate my position more.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
are you suggesting that UK nurses are inferior

No they are not suggesting that UK nurses are inferior but UK training especially now is not general but specialised and you have to meet Canadian requirements and their training is general. I am UK trained and there is a problem with my transcripts and I have to do courses to meet clinical/theory requirements and this is despite 20 years since I qualified and up until beginning of 2007 continually worked. Just because I trained generally doesn't mean I meet requirements and as I want to work in Canada then I have to meet the requirements.

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Regardless, if you're a foreign trained nurse, and you're wishing to seek employment in another country. You MUST meet the requirements set forth by the nursing body of that country. If you don't meet the requirements, the country has a right to protect it's citizens and make sure that they're going to license a competent nurse. There's nothing wrong with that.

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boginkosi

You are correct, the validity of the SEC assessment should be examined, there should be transparency in what is being examined. The people responsible for assessing IENs, should show that the assessment criteria is evidence based and that they are using a reliable assessment tool for predicting safe, competent practice. They should not create criteria based on a knee jerk reaction to some IENs who had difficulty transitioning in the past. Unfortunately for you, I don't think this practice will change any time in the near future, I hope that even though you encountered excessive financial burdens from the assessment process, that you will enjoy your future career as a nurse in Canada.

regards

dishes

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Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.

To be able to review the validity they will need enough data and some time. SEC was only implemented, not sure how many IEN's are actually taking it, when you look at posts here, people are trying to avoid it.

Plus they need response from employers as well, if being successful in SEC or doing the required courses makes a difference in transition to the canadian market.

5cats

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Specializes in education.

Yes 5cats you have made a good point about the evidence that is needed. I believe this has been started.

Also originally the SEC was set up for IEN's who were already working at nursing jobs in Canada and having difficulty with the transition. The employers would send the nurse for an assessment so that they had a better idea where the gaps were but eventually the regulatory bodies decided that this should probably be done before licensing and not afterward.

This seems like a reasonable decision to me but as we have pointed out the evidence as to whether or not it is actually doing what it is supposed to do is scarce at best.

This is the only system we have in BC, and Alberta, and I believe Saskatchewan is starting as well.

Ontario does not use it but they stream many IEN's through registration as a practical nurse first. From there a LPN could make the decision to take the upgrade to the RN status through the many programs available for that or apply to write the CRNE after they have received some work experience and orientation to the Canadian health care system and the role of the nurse.

I am not sure how the other provinces do it but the majority of IEN's end up in Ontario, BC and Alberta so that is perhaps why it has started in the western provinces.

There are obviously many IEN's on this forum and I would be interested in what you think would be the best way to assure the Canadian public of safe, competent, and ethical nursing care when the nurses entering the system were not educated in the Canada.

I would really like to here your ideas on that.

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Specializes in education.
there should be transparency in what is being examined.

I don't think there are any secrets with the SEC

http://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/HealthCommunityStudies/Programs/IENAssessmentCentre/SECAssessment/index.htm

http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2008HEALTH0068-000993.htm

http://www.nursinginbc.ca/

You might find some of these links interesting and the assessment is clearly explained on the Mount Royal website with some examples of situations that might be presented.

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Specializes in intensive care, recovery, anesthetics.

SK started more than a year ago with SEC, and I actually had to do one. It was ok.

5cats

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To be able to review the validity they will need enough data and some time. SEC was only implemented, not sure how many IEN's are actually taking it, when you look at posts here, people are trying to avoid it.

Plus they need response from employers as well, if being successful in SEC or doing the required courses makes a difference in transition to the canadian market.

5cats

Prior to undergoing the SEC, did you sign a consent allowing the SEC examiners access to your future employment records? If so, do you know what data will be collected on you? If you did not sign a consent and where not fully informed as to what data will be collected, I do not see how your SEC results can be used as data for research purposes.

dishes

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j8win, it appears they will be assessing your entire nursing education. I'm afraid that is not a very good sign. The SEC in BC is a relatively new process; it has only been required for less than a month and the model they are following is the one developed in Alberta at Mount Royal College. I understand that Saskatchewan has also begun requiring an SEC, although their website has not been updated to reflect that. When the College of Nurses determines that an SEC is needed, they have examined the curriculum of your school, the content of your clinical experiences and the number of hours of clinical practice obtained in each of the five major disciplines: medicine, surgery, psychiatry, obstetrics and pediatrics. If yours don't meet or exceed the minimum standard in Canada, you're going to need the SEC to prove your knowledge and skills. I expect that it will become the usual practice across the country to require some sort of SEC assessment for IENs, with different degrees of scrutiny depending on where the education was obtained.

hi janfrn, I'm also in the same situation but they only requiring me on the Medical-surgical area for two days assessment.Do you think that's a good sign? I hope they won't require me to do do the upgrading...I'm afraid it would cost too much.. I'm an NCLEX passer, do you think that would help, I mean the knowledge and theories?

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Passing the NCLEX has NOTHING to do with how well you will work in Canada.

The Canadian exam is totally different.

Some people do great at exams and can't function on the floor. It's a test of your skills as well as your knowledge.

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