Work as LPN with U.S. ADN degree

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Hi,

I just graduated with a 2 year RN degree in NY and I am currently in the process of having my program evaluated in Manitoba and New Brunswick (both provinces still allow 2 year diploma nurses to take CRNE). This process will take a few months. Less than 6 months in NB and more than 6 months in Manitoba. I am wondering if anyone knows if it is possible to work as an LPN in Canada with a two year U.S. RN degree while I am waiting or would it just be the same process for me to work as an RN? I know that some provinces allow 2nd year nursing students to work as LPN's.If anyone has any information or advice on this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

In order to work as any kind of nurse in Canada you would need a Canadian license.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

The process for licensure as an LPN when you're from outside the country is not much different from registering as an RN. And it's a misconception that second-year students are employed as LPNs. To be that, they have to be licensed, don't they? They are employed as nursing assistants though. They have a special classification such as employed nursing student (Manitoba), undergraduate nursing employee (Alberta) and similar titles. One cohort of IENs from the Philippines was given the opportunity to work as LPNs in Alberta when it was discovered after the government had spent a LOT of money importing them that their education there did not meet registration requirements in Alberta, but that was two years ago and it was a single, small group.

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I'm thinking about trying to move to Manitoba, or any other province that allows ADN's to work as RN's. I know most provinces require all their RN's to have a BSN now. I got my ADN two weeks ago, and I have 12 months of OPT starting this July in the States, so I should have plenty of time to get a visa arranged. I'm also thinking about the LPN route in Canada just incase I can't get licensed as an RN. It's too bad my home country, the UK, doesn't recognize my ADN, but I don't want to work there anyway as it's a dump. Canada does seem a lot better than both the UK and the US.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Please read this thread: US Nursing student needs help in Canada. - Nursing for Nurses . Mantoba will not accept an ADN from a new grad any more. No Canadian province will.

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. It's too bad my home country, the UK, doesn't recognize my ADN, but I don't want to work there anyway as it's a dump. Canada does seem a lot better than both the UK and the US.

Wow, nothing like national pride.

That "dump" paid to educate you enough to be able to go to school in the US. It provided healthcare to you and your parents. It probably even helped provide for you during your upbringing with various benefit programmes to your family.

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Thx Fiona, You are correct when you say that my country did help educate me, and provide me and my family with healthcare, but the Uk is not good place for RN's. The pay is terrible there for nurses, and they would rather have a nurse who is Eastern European who barely speaks English than someone who is British and speaks English perfectly. However, I need to add that I paid a lot of taxes before leaving the UK, and I did not receive a penny from the British government to help with my nursing education here in the States. The Uk is a bit dumpy, everyone knows that. There a lot of British nurses there who are dying to leave the place as the pay is so bad.

Thx Janfrn, but I won't be a new grad next year when/if I move to Canada. I think Canada should be grateful that there are US trained Rn's wanting to work there as we are so cheap to hire and we are well educated in the States. I will ask the individual province about my situation.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Thx Fiona, You are correct when you say that my country did help educate me, and provide me and my family with healthcare, but the Uk is not good place for RN's. The pay is terrible there for nurses, and they would rather have a nurse who is Eastern European who barely speaks English than someone who is British and speaks English perfectly. However, I need to add that I paid a lot of taxes before leaving the UK, and I did not receive a penny from the British government to help with my nursing education here in the States. The Uk is a bit dumpy, everyone knows that. There a lot of British nurses there who are dying to leave the place as the pay is so bad.

Thx Janfrn, but I won't be a new grad next year when/if I move to Canada. I think Canada should be grateful that there are US trained Rn's wanting to work there as we are so cheap to hire and we are well educated in the States. I will ask the individual province about my situation.

OK, I am a UK nurse and yes considering what we did the pay wasn't good but these days starting pay for a new grad in the UK is approx £22,000 per annum which isn't bad compared to other professions. I left UK not because it was a dump but because I had the chance to travel.

What I do find a bit condescending and insulting is your last bit about how Canada should be grateful that US nurses want to work in Canada, they are not cheap to hire and are like the UK and US have to pay you the same wage as other nurses and Canadian nurses are well educated and in most if not all provinces are trained to BSN which isn't the case of the US where there is both ADN and BSN

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Gerry how do you figure US nurses are cheaper to hire than Canadian nurses? We get paid the same no matter where we come from.Canadian nurses are as well, or in many cases, better trained than US nurses.As Silverdragon points out, our minimum for RNs is now the BSN and our PN program is 2 years as opposed to the one year PN program south of the border.

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Thx Fiona, You are correct when you say that my country did help educate me, and provide me and my family with healthcare, but the Uk is not good place for RN's. The pay is terrible there for nurses, and they would rather have a nurse who is Eastern European who barely speaks English than someone who is British and speaks English perfectly. However, I need to add that I paid a lot of taxes before leaving the UK, and I did not receive a penny from the British government to help with my nursing education here in the States. The Uk is a bit dumpy, everyone knows that. There a lot of British nurses there who are dying to leave the place as the pay is so bad.

Thx Janfrn, but I won't be a new grad next year when/if I move to Canada. I think Canada should be grateful that there are US trained Rn's wanting to work there as we are so cheap to hire and we are well educated in the States. I will ask the individual province about my situation.

Your post just demonstrates your lack of knowledge of the great white north.

Hospital nurses (where the bulk of nurses of both level are employed) are unionized. That means union rates, no matter where you come from. The only thing that is taken into experience is how many hours you've worked and then they slot you in at the appropriate pay grade.

The non-union employers (doctors, walk ins, etc) usually pay slightly below union rate because there is usually no weekend or shift work.

I won't quibble about your education, let's leave it at I've seen good nurses from the US and terrible nurses from the US. It's the individual, not the school that makes the nurse.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

And let's not forget that there's a signifcant percentage of Canadian newly graduated nurses who have not been able to find employment and are willing to move to another province for work. The amount of hassle involved in hiring from outside the country will tend to work toward Canadian-educated nurses being given preference in hiring. I too find your statement about Canada being grateful for US-trained RNs to be offensive; the bit about it being cheap to hire is totally untrue as the Colleges of Nursing have to pay people good wages to screen and assess all applicants from other countries, which can result in the consumption of hundreds of person-hours of work, telephone bills and an assortment of other expenses. Where is that cheap?

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Specializes in SICU,MICU,ER,trauma.

On an semi related note: how many RNs are there in Canada from the USA? I'm just curious. As you folks probably know I'm moving up there next month with the wife and kids.

I am grateful and honored to have been accepted with my family to be Permanent residents of Canada! I can't tell you how exciting it is! I can see there is a lot of confusion about what it takes to be an RN or RPN in Canada! Holy confusion batman! I was confused too, but I checked the interwebitubes and it had the answers.

I'm even excited about taking the CRNE on Wednesday! I'm all tingly all over ( and it isn't just the Manhattans speaking!)!

Can't wait! The only thing that would make it better would be if a mountie was meeting me at the border with a bowl of poutine and a bag full of twoonies...

ok that's not going to happen...

cheers all!

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