COMPARABLE for Australian, New Zealand, UK and US Nurses! (BCCNM)
Hi International Nurses,
BCCNM (regulatory body in British Columbia) have made changes to their process.
Nurses (in the majority of cases) that were educated in; United Kingdom (U.K), United States (US), Australia or New Zealand will be accepted by BCCNM.
This is BIG NEWS as it will remove a huge chunk of time / money / resources needed for IENS from the mentioned countries.
Their website now denotes;
BCCNM accepts nursing education and practice in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States as largely comparable to registered nursing practice in Canada. If you were educated in one of these countries, you may be able to get registered more quickly.
Now, getting a comparable results is not the be all end all. There is still more work to be done.
BCCNM mentions that:
Competency assessment WILL NOT be needed if;
You graduated from an approved registered nurse program, and had an initial registration in Australia, UK, US or New Zealand; AND;
You graduated in the past 5 years, OR, completed 1,125 hours as a registered nurse (employer confirmed).
** you will need to apply to NCAS (Nursing Community Assessment Service) so they can assess your credentials and English language proficiency.
NOTE: If the requirements noted are not met OR if you are a mental health nursing graduate (UK only), you will need to complete NCAS competency assessment.
Following This;
NCAS will send the reviewed documents to BCCNM and will decide if you are eligible for registration.
You will be asked to complete the following:
Coursework to prepare you for the Canadian health system (a course offered by either Kwantlen Polytechnic Univerity or Thompson Rivers University)
Transitional practice experience (TPE) t0 assess your safe practice (250 hours with one employer — you must have your provisional license first! and you’ll need to find your own employer)
NCLEX-RN (regulatory exam) your provisional license will make you eligible for the NCLEX-RN and BCCNM will send details on how to book your exam. NOTE: If you have already passed the NCLEX-RN you do not have to do it again!
Here’s hoping that the regulatory bodies continue to make positive changes for us Internationally Educated Nurses.
Information adapted from: https://www.bccnm.ca/RN/applications_registration/how_to_apply/InternationalEN/Pages/IENs_educated_in_AUS_NZ_UK_US.aspx
