Friday, December 12, 2014

For IENs: B.C. Nursing Community Assessment Service

For IEN (internationally educated nurses) who plan on getting licensed in British Columbia (B.C., Canada) to note: On Nov 5th, 2014, CRNBC announced a project to create a new Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS) for Internationally Educated Practitioners (IEPs) by March 2016. Below is quoted from the announcement.

"The purpose of the NCAS is to support the regulatory colleges and the Care Aid Registry to make decisions about registering IEPs by:
  • Determining if IEPs have competencies that are substantially equivalent to those of entry-level Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Health Care Assistants in BC
  • Identifying competence gaps to assist regulators to determine appropriate supplementary education
  • Identifying an alternate profession/role for which the applicant has demonstrated the competencies.
The NCAS project is an initiative led jointly by the BC Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry (the Registry), and the three nursing regulatory colleges (CLPNBC, CRNBC, CRPNBC) as the nursing community partners."

Note: IEPs refer to internationally-educated Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses (also known as Assistant Nurses or Enrolled Nurses in Singapore), and Health Care Assistants. According to the quick facts provided in the announcement, "Roughly 1450 IEPs seek registration in the four professions in BC each year." For details, please refer to the CRNBC announcement or their PDF download.

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For those who intend to work in the Metro Vancouver area, I suggest checking out the Government of Canada Job Bank to understand the job market better. Please see below for some statistics on the Lower Mainland - Southwest region, i.e. Metro Vancouver as of Dec-14, 2014.
  1. For Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses (NOC 3152 - A)  - There are 133 job postings (including 3 months-old postings). According to the Outlook report released on May 22, 2014, the job outlook is "Good" because of the expectation that job openings will be created as older workers retire and "according to the 2011 National Household Survey, ... 21% of workers were 55 years old and older." That said, your individual experience may differ, click here and here for examples.
  2. For Licensed Practical Nurses (NOC 3233 - B) - There are 4 job postings (November and December 2014). According to the Outlook report released on May 22, 2014, the job outlook is "Good" because of the expectation that job openings will be created as older workers retire and "according to the 2011 National Household Survey, ... 14% of workers were 55 years old and older." Again, your individual experience may differ. Back in 2013, I have met several LPNs who told me about themselves and/or their schoolmates having difficulty landing full-time/part-time LPN jobs up to 9 months after graduation, surviving on casual (on-the-call) jobs instead.
  3. For Health Care Assistants [listed as Nurses Aides, Orderlies and Patient Service Associates (NOC 3413 - C) in the Job Bank] - There are 3 job postings (all listed in December 2014). According to the Outlook report released on May 22, 2014, the job outlook is "Good" because of the expectation that job openings will be created as older workers retire and "according to the 2011 National Household Survey, ... 19% of workers were 55 years old and older." Again, your individual experience may differ.
Here are my 2 cents as someone who has gone through the job search process in Metro Vancouver (in 2013) and met others along the same journey: 
  1. Often one will see advertisements that "Canada needs nurses", "there is a high demand for nurses", "there is a shortage of nurses", etc (especially advertisements from the private for-profit colleges/schools). One has to be careful to understand the fact that there may a conflict of interest in the claims put out by these advertisements. Yes, the need is there, but the real question is -- "Is the funding there?" E.g. Are the public health authorities willing/able to invest enough to meet the staffing needs? Are the private facilities/employers' terms of employment reasonable?
  2. The 1,450 IEPs seeking registration in the 4 professions (RN, RPN, LPN, HCA) each year does not include those locally trained/educated looking for jobs in the above professions. For number of local fresh-graduates seeking for the same jobs, I suggest interested readers to do more of their own online data-mining; e.g. from the Education Planner (BC) website and the websites of the various colleges/training-schools. Please also do not forget to add that there are also job seekers who transfer their registration from other provinces to Metro Vancouver, B.C.
  3. One solution that I have encountered is would-be professionals doing their education/training/registration in Metro Vancouver, B.C. because of the existence of family/social-support here in Metro Vancouver, but with plans to move to Interior B.C.Northern B.C. or other provinces after they get their registration. E.g. I have personally met a B.C.-registered LPN fresh graduate who moved to Manitoba because of the combination of having family and more/better job opportunities there. E.g. I have met a RPN-student who plans to head to Atlantic Canada for jobs after he gets his B.C. registration because according to him the job opportunities for RPN fresh-graduates is really limited in B.C., given that RNs and RPNs are both lumped under the same NOC and according to him RNs are often preferred over RPNs.
So for the IENs who visit my blog to plan for their healthcare career in Canada, I strongly recommend that you do more research into the job market and registration requirements of the specific region that you intend to work in.

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p.s. A piece of good news for IENs with 5-10 years of relevant nursing experience before coming to B.C., Canada. I learned recently from a GNIE ex-classmate that several of our fellow GNIE-classmates have had their years of overseas (i.e. non-Canadian) nursing experience recognized by their health-authority employer(s), and their hourly-salary adjusted accordingly (albeit they still start from scratch on the B.C. Nurses Union's Seniority Scheme). FYI, click here for B.C.'s Registered Psychiatric Nurses' pay-scale effective from April 1st, 2013. Note: Registered Nurses in B.C. have the same pay-scale.
http://www.upnbc.org/PDFs/NBA%20Wage%20Grid%202011_2013%20(1).pdf

10 comments:

  1. Hi Winking Doll! How's your CRNBC RN registration if I may ask? Are you in what stage now? My wife is NCLEX-RN holder and she's waiting for her NNAS advisory report.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 8:34:00 AM,

      I have full RN registration with the CRNBC since March-2013, see blog entry below.
      http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2013/03/gnie-advocacy-success.html

      Therefore the new process does not affect me. This blog post is more FYI for my blog readers who are IENs planning to apply for CRNBC registration on/after March-2016.

      When did your wife obtain her NCLEX-RN? The CRNE was changed to NCLEX-RN only effective from 2015, so I do not know if your wife's NCLEX-RN would be recognized if obtained prior to 2015.

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  2. Hi

    I wonder if you can help me.

    I am a UK mental health nurse hoping to register in BC. I have my NNAS report and have done my initial application to crpnbc who have said my report should be ready first week of March. After this then they will let me know if they need anything more and they also said do not take this email as confirmation of registration. Is it possible that after they get back to me early March I could possibly be registered and then look for jobs? Or will it be some kind of entry exam if they feel I dont meet criteria, or worse could I even be completely rejected?

    I work full time at present in an adult male medium secure forensic hospital since 2014.

    Sorry for all the questions but after scouring the internet I cant seem to find anything from someone that has done the process!

    Thanks
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,

      > "After this then they will let me know if they need anything more and they also said do not take this email as confirmation of registration."

      It is as per their explanation. It can go any way, per your understanding as above.

      Sorry that I cannot be of much help beyond this. The CRPNBC is a different regulatory board from the CRNBC, so my experience will not be relevant to your situation at all.

      Good luck!

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  3. Hello Winking Doll! I have been reading your blogs and would like to thank you for sharing your experiences on becoming a RN in Canada. The information you shared are truly helpful. I am an IEN myself and have worked in SG for almost six years before migrating here in Canada last year. I have almost almost all the necessary requirements needed to become a RN here in BC. I am planning to take SEC this July and I'm wondering about the possible outcomes and recommendations. Will it be a good idea to appeal and go for GNIE even if CRNBC only ask me to take few short courses? Or will the courses be enough to get me a job in hospitals. I am wondering whether I'll have difficulties in applying for a job on health authorities in the future if I'm not advised by CRNBC to go for GNIE program. Any thoughts or ideas on this will be truly appreciated. Do you know any IENs who have not went for the GNIE but was able to land a job in hospitals/health authorities?
    Thanks a lot!
    Cath

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    Replies
    1. Hi Cath,

      My 2 cents: Do a SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunities, threats) analysis for yourself.

      What are your main constraints? For many IENs, funding is a big constraint. If one can save the time and $ by successfully passing the SEC first round, most would just go ahead and skip the GNIE course. I don't know you, so I won't know if this applies to your case.

      Now that you're already here in Canada, I suggest checking out immigration settlement service agencies (e.g. MOSAIC, ISS of BC) for career advice (or even mentor-matching service) on how to re-enter nursing here. In addition, check out the CRNBC and/or BCNU (BC Nurses' Union) website. The last I know (which was a long time ago), they hold talks for IENs to guide them on entering the nursing market here.

      You can check out the health authorities' recruitment websites for examples of what they want from a job applicant. You will most likely need to have Canadian work experience -- preferably as a nurse and/or volunteering at a healthcare environment. Most will ask for 2 supervisory references. You can still get those if/when you attend short nursing courses... just make sure you curry-favour from your lecturers/preceptors. :) Alternatively, ask the hospitals for volunteer positions (check out their websites) -- not as a nurse but general roles such as a hospital guide.

      Long story short: There is more than one way to reach your destination. Which way works best for you? You're the best judge of that.

      You're welcome. I'm glad that you found the information useful because much of it may be outdated already. In other words, my disclaimer here: check the facts for yourself -- your future is in your own hands.

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  4. Thank you WD! I have recently received my SEC result, and CRNBC advised me to take 2 short courses and a consolidated clinical. I am still in the process of weighing in my options of whether to proceed with GNIE (instead) or not. Part of me wants to save time and money and just take the individual courses, but my worry is that I might have difficulty looking for a job in acute care setting. I heard it takes time to get a slot for the consolidated clinical. I am also contemplating on taking the whole GNIE course. It takes time to finish it yet I will have a better chance of getting employed by health authorities. I am wondering whether you know anyone who haven't went for GNIE but have been successful in getting a job from a health authority here in BC?
    Please advise. Thanks a lot WD.
    Cath

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cath,

      Congratulations for doing well on your SEC!

      CRNBC only started the SEC assessment requirement for IENs in 2008, so yes, I have met IEN RNs working with the Health Authorities who did not undergo GNIE.

      Of course, 2008 was almost 10 years ago, and so the job market may be different since. Similarly, my last job search was 2013, again my experience is obsolete & irrelevant IMHO.

      So back to my previous reply to you. Your best bet for up-to-date information is immigrant settlement services agencies, CRNBC, BCNU or the Health Authorities.

      Good luck!

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete
  5. Hi winking doll, been reading all your post since last year because im still lost regarding my nursing future here in canada. Im an IEN with almost 4 yrs of exp in a general ward in phil. Started migrating here last 2013, my nusring application took 3 yrs before i got my sec referral. Unfortunately i was not able to get a good score on my sec so they want me to do a re entry program or take full 4 years BSN. Do you know someone who's also on the same situation? Or any school that will accept me? I dont think Iam capable of taking the full 4 year of BSN because of time & money. Do you have any piece of advice.Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ashven,

      I suggest that you re-read CRNBC's reply to you on your SEC Assessment carefully. Does CRNBC require you to do:
      (1) 1-year Re-entry program (eg GNIE)?, OR
      (2) 4-year BSN?
      These 2 are very different outcomes.

      Option 1: Re-entry program takes only 1 year of full-time study, and the CRNBC letter would probably have specified which schools/programs are recognized.

      If you are stuck with Option 2: 4 year-BSN, but cannot manage the time & money required, and yet really want to be a Canadian RN; one idea is to consider applying for IEN assessment from the nursing boards in other Canadian provinces. Another idea is to check-out BC Care Aid and/or LPN registration requirements and work as Care Aide/LPN until you save enough money to meet CRNBC's requirement.

      Either way, time, money and effort are needed. As part of your migration journey, it is your task to figure-out an acceptable solution for yourself. I wish you the best of luck.

      Cheers, WD.

      Delete