7 Things To Know Before Starting a Canadian Nursing Application

(1) Make sure you have a pending/ongoing Canadian immigration application

This is the MOST important thing before starting NNAS. At some points of the Canadian nursing licensure process, YOUR PRESENCE IN CANADA may be/is required. Moreover, an authorisation under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (of Canada) to enter Canada is required and even in some provinces, this is required to practise nursing.

Such as:

• Study Visa
• Work Permits (Foreign Workers, Live-In Care Givers etc)
• Permanent Residency
• Citizenship
• Spousal/Dependents Petition

In other words, DO NOT START NNAS if everything is still up in the air. Secure your way to enter Canada first. If a travel document is issued by the Immigration, Refugee & Citizen Canada (IRCC) and a departure date has been decided by you and your family, you can start worrying about getting licensed in Canada. It is wise to start your NNAS while you are still in the Philippines and be 'hands-on' the supporting documentation. Nevertheless, do not leave your RN positions or resign from your RN jobs.

(2) Do your personal research about Canada or the province/s you wish to settle with your families and practise nursing

It is important to have a hold of information you need. This will serve as your bullets and ammunition in unchartered territory. Do your personal research BEFORE asking your relatives, your friends/colleagues and even total strangers who are already in Canada. What they might say may be true or false or an exaggeration or marketing/sales talk or maybe they just don't have information. The Internet is a super highway of information. A powerful tool that is available within reach. Use this to gather specific information.

(3) Understand the Canadian nursing licensure processes

Canadian nursing regulation is one of, if not, the most complex nursing licensure processes for Internationally-Educated Nurses (IENs). There are 9 RN and LPN regulators of 10 Canadian Provinces. 9 Canadian provinces, by legislation, chose the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School or CGFNS (an independent third-party) based in Pennsylvania, USA to deliver the National Nursing Assessment Service or NNAS except the province of Québec. CGFNS has been in the industry for more than 30 years and are experts on foreign nursing credential evaluation.

(4) Read the NNAS Applicant Handbook

Before the inception of the NNAS, all Canadian nursing regulators received applications and their supporting documents across Canada and the globe. Nursing regulators were bombarded by backlogs causing more delays on making a determination for each applicant both Canadian and internationally-educated/trained. NNAS does the comparative study between your BSN program of your nursing school and the Canadian BSN program while Canadian regulators make an initial determination of an application based on:

• NNAS Advisory Report (along with the supporting documentation received)
• Length of RN Experience

(5) A 'Not Comparable to Canadian RN/LPN Education' is not the end of your nursing career in Canada

You are not being barred by NNAS to practise nursing in Canada. This means that there are gaps found on your nursing program. What you need to do is to send an application to the College/regulatory board and take it from there. There are more IENs who got a Not Comparable to Canadian RN Education NNAS Advisory Report who are now Canadian RNs than those who got Somewhat Comparable or Comparable to Canadian RN Education!

(6) NNAS Process & Regulatory Board Process

NNAS and regulatory processes are independent. Do not worry about regulatory board processes when you are still gathering the needed requirements/supporting documentation for NNAS. Start reading about your chosen nursing regulatory board's registration requirements/process before asking people around. Nurses start a work day with the right ammunition. No one wants to be your personal researcher or personal secretary. Bawal ang masyadong spoon-feeding noh!

(7) Peer Mentorship

The best resource person on Canadian licensing processes are the people who have gone through it. People who have genuine experience on how to do things and are now practising nurses in Canada. The Pinoy IENs for Canadian Registration (A Support Group for Filipino Nurses) and the Pinoy Internationally-Educated Nurses for Canadian Registration cater to Filipino nurses who are in the hope of becoming Canadian RNs or Canadian LPNs. Do not think about the monetary rewards that comes with it. Think about getting licensed first or think about coming to Canada first!