Shot down. Again.

Just got the news that the place where I'm volunteering is unwilling to risk liability insurance on me; hence, I shouldn't bother coming back.

Typical.

Oh well, time to try again...

Nurse Vancouver

Iane told me about this site; apparently it's the collaboration of four health care authorities in the Lower Mainland.

Not so good for me personally, but for those of you with some experience, it's worth a look.

Thanks, mom

When in doubt, you can turn to your friends and family.

I got to shadow my mom when she went on duty at a geriatric home.

First impression was that the work didn't seem that stressful. Morning shift consisted of medication administration, followed by assisting the licensed practical nurse and resident care aide with morning ADLs. After that, there isn't much to do.

Probably not a typical day, but it's pretty consistent with what I've heard with other private institutions.

I'll keep you posted.

No handmaidens please

Finally, someone has given me a good explanation why new internationally educated nurse graduates can't apply here right away.

The reasons, he said, are complicated, but he did share this:

Nurses in other countries (especially the Philippines) are still being taught to be the doctor's handmaidens. In other words, the nurse assesses, carries out doctor's orders, and most importantly does not question the doctor except to clarify orders. It's just not done that way.

Here, nurses wield more power - it's common for doctors to ask nurses what to do, and the nurse is empowered to not only question but even disagree with the doctor.

Before you disagree with me, hear me out: I know that in theory, all nurses can refuse to carry out orders. Yes we were taught that in school as well.

Therefore, I conclude that one big problem facing new IEN grads is assertiveness. I do understand the reasoning why employers want to hire more experienced nurses, since they are more assertive.

(I don't understand why new Canadian nursing grads would be readily hired, unless for some reason all Canadian nursing grads possess that assertiveness as well. Is it a cultural or educational difference?)

As always, comments welcome.

Fraser Health (initial contact)

Health Authority: Fraser Health

Areas Covered: Burnaby to White Rock [map]

Website:Fraser Health

Response: negative

Desired Requirements: 3+ years work experience in nursing

This wasn't an in-depth phone call. Basically, the person answering the phone stated that IENs who wish to apply needed 3 or more years of work experience in nursing in order to apply. Fraser Health does not currently have a program catered to IENs.

Will get more information as soon as possible.

Not liking Vancouver Coastal Health much...

Health Authority: Vancouver Coastal Health

Areas Covered by Health Authority: http://www.vch.ca/about/regions.htm

Website: www.vch.ca

Response: Negative

Desired requirements: 2+ years work experience in nursing

This was the first health authority I attempted to contact. I had a lot of friends who had some experience working within their system, and had heard that I would learn a lot from being in one of these hospitals.

Based on VCH's website, I had expected them to be fairly open – after all, their website actively advertises for international applicants [see here]. Nothing prepared me for the response I got.

The initial response went well – I inquired about the possibility of applying for either the new grad program or the IEN program. I felt that I was qualified for either. I spoke to an assistant in human resources and they initially were positive. So I waited for a follow-up call.

I wasn't happy at all with the follow-up call. Essentially I was told that I wasn't qualified. That part didn't really bother or surprise me, although I honestly found that a little disappointing. What surprised me was the next statement. She said, “You should go back to the Philippines, work there for two years and then come back.”

Does anyone else find this insulting?

I guess I was expecting some kind of help, like “you can take this program in order to upgrade your skills,” or “you can try being a care aide / licensed practical nurse first in order to gain exposure,” or even “try volunteering first so that you can experience the Canadian health system”.

Nope. Just flat out dismissal, without even asking about my situation, assuming that I wasn't even from Canada or something. When the suggestion is to spend money for another flight, work in a country where call center agents are paid more than nurses, and then return to Canada and work hard to integrate, there seems to be a bit of a problem somewhere.

Admittedly, they called one more time. After finding out that I was actually Canadian, they suggested going to Kwantlen to take a Canadian RN refresher course. Helpful advice, but they didn't have to be condescending on the previous call.

Based on this experience, I wouldn't recommend dealing with VCH right now.

Comments welcome.

Dealing with the CRNBC

The CRNBC is the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia. They're the regulatory body of nurses in this province.

The forms for IENs are located here:
http://www.crnbc.ca/downloads/FormIntl.pdf

However, before you fill the forms out, you need to make sure that you're eligible. The eligibility criteria are located in detail at http://www.crnbc.ca/downloads/InterntalRegPrep.pdf

Here's the eligibility requirements, summarized:

1. English
For IENs, this usually means an English test of some sort. The most common one I've seen is IELTS due to it being accepted in many countries. CELBAN is the English test specifically for Canadian nursing, but it's more expensive.

More details about the English requirement are at http://www.crnbc.ca/downloads/501.pdf

2. Registration
A very important point: You must be a Registered Nurse in the following places:
a) Where you got your nursing education
b) Every place where you have worked as a nurse

This almost disqualified me, as only Filipino citizens can be registered nurses in the Philippines. (Thank God for dual citizenship.)

Oh, by the way, the CRNBC will also check if you've ever had disciplinary action against you as a nurse.

3. Education
The CRNBC only deals with those who were trained to be RNs. Doctors, PNs, nursing aides, etc will not be accepted unless they go back to school specifically for nursing.
Also, the nursing education you've completed must be post-secondary level (i.e. college or university). High school education doesn't count.
Finally, your nursing education must have covered the following topics: medicine, surgery, mental health, maternal health, and children’s nursing. If you didn't cover all of these, you may need to take a qualifying or completion program.

4. Nursing Competence

Directly from the CRNBC:
In the past five years, have you completed at least one of following:
• worked as a registered nurse for 1,125 hours
• completed a nursing re-entry program
• graduated from a basic nursing education program

So, if it's been at least five years since you've graduated from nursing, and you haven't practiced at least 1,125 hours (over five years), you will probably have to go back to school.

5. Criminal Record

Obviously the CRNBC doesn't want to have criminals treating clients.

That's basically it. You need to fulfill all of these requirements before the CRNBC will process your application. And of course the application fee needs to be paid (over $200 Canadian).

Update: ianebreech has stated that all June 2006 passers of the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination must obtain a certified true copy of certification from either the Professional Regulation Commission or the Department of Labor and Employment stating that you've retaken (and passed) Test III and V. From his pre-assessment letter:

Before we can continue assessing your application for practising registration, we require the following:
A copy of your retake scores for the PRC's nursing exam. CRNBC applicants who passed the June 2006 Phil national nurse exam will be eligible to proceed with their CRNBC application by retaking and passing the compromised Tests 3 and 5 with a passing score of 75. Confirmation of the passing scores must be submitted directly to CRNBC from the PRC.

Thanks iane.

Starting the journey...

I guess you may be wondering why I'm posting now, after being here for at least 4 months.

Some of you may be aware that one of my goals is finding the best way for Philippine nurses to come directly to British Columbia with as few hurdles as possible.

So I started.

And if I had known back then about the number of hurdles I'd have to face, I may not have even started.

But the journey has begun, and why stop now?

Watch this space...