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...