National Nursing Assessment Centre NNAS

[RN_0001]

My cousin has completed her BSc.N from India about 6 years back and has more than 2 years experience. She is hoping to move to Canada. Could the experienced people here help me with the following:
1. Whats the fastest way to get to Canada - PR wise and as a student.
2. If student route, what would be the affordable colleges/universities and how long before she can start working as an RN.
3. Ontario is giving out nominations to candidates who has completed 1 year in a masters degree. Will taking a Masters in Nursing help in this regard.

I thank this forum for helping me get my PR ( i landed last month in Mississauga, ON)

1. There aren't any fast ways
2. International tuition fees are 3x what they would be for a Canadian citizen. Which is fine if your cousin is extremely wealthy, but will be difficult if your cousin is not. If planning to study nursing in Canada, study at a university as a 4 year university degree in nursing is what is required to be an RN in Canada. Beware of college programs that offer nursing courses. Niagara College offers a "Certificate in Critical Care Nursing" designed for international students but it literally lands the graduate nowhere. It is not considered when the graduate attempts to become licensed in Ontario/Canada. This is just an example but I really want international nurses to be careful because many schools prey on the hopes of international students.
3. A Masters in Nursing from a country other than Canada won't help much. It is very difficult to get a license with a nursing degree from India (some have, but very few, without taking the IENCAP or other test). Instead of spending the time and money on a masters in India, I would recommend spending the time and money getting a nursing degree in Canada. By the time your cousin goes through the NNAS process (at least a year), takes the IENCAP and then does whatever else the regulatory body requires them to do, they could have almost done a 4 year degree. At least with a 4 year degree from Canada your cousin is pretty much guaranteed to get a license.

 

[allyexa]

Tborne went to University of Kansas, USA

Thanks. What kind of work experience?

 

[evoboy2016]

Thanks for the help, RN_0001. I have a few queries as mentioned below:

1. There aren't any fast ways
2. International tuition fees are 3x what they would be for a Canadian citizen. Which is fine if your cousin is extremely wealthy, but will be difficult if your cousin is not. If planning to study nursing in Canada, study at a university as a 4 year university degree in nursing is what is required to be an RN in Canada. Beware of college programs that offer nursing courses. Niagara College offers a "Certificate in Critical Care Nursing" designed for international students but it literally lands the graduate nowhere. It is not considered when the graduate attempts to become licensed in Ontario/Canada. This is just an example but I really want international nurses to be careful because many schools prey on the hopes of international students.

She already has a BScN from India. She has to do a 4 yrs bachelors degree again in Canada to get an RN? Is there no way to use the Indian BScN to get admission for Canadian MScN or MN? Payment is not an issue cuz all intl. student have to pay 3x, i believe.

Also, if she passes out of the MSc.N degree from Canada, will she automatiically get an RN?

3. A Masters in Nursing from a country other than Canada won't help much. It is very difficult to get a license with a nursing degree from India (some have, but very few, without taking the IENCAP or other test). Instead of spending the time and money on a masters in India, I would recommend spending the time and money getting a nursing degree in Canada. By the time your cousin goes through the NNAS process (at least a year), takes the IENCAP and then does whatever else the regulatory body requires them to do, they could have almost done a 4 year degree. At least with a 4 year degree from Canada your cousin is pretty much guaranteed to get a license.

 

[RN_0001]

Thanks for the help, RN_0001. I have a few queries as mentioned below:

She already has a BScN from India. She has to do a 4 yrs bachelors degree again in Canada to get an RN?

It is possible that she will have to do a 4 year degree in Canada to become an RN. But, it depends. She has to have her education assessed by NNAS ($650 USD) and it is 99% likely that they will state that her education is "non-comparable" to a Canadian nursing education (I was educated in the US and my education was also deemed non-comparable, although about one year after my education was assessed they made changes and now most US degrees are comparable or somewhat comparable").
If her education is deemed non-comparable, she will still apply to the licensing body (let's use Ontario as an example). CNO, as the licensing body, will either: a) ask her to submit proof of recent nursing work experience (must be within the past 3 years) and job descriptions. From there they will decide it suffices or that the applicant needs to prove more (this is the most likely outcome with nursing work experience from India).
b) ask her to register for the IENCAP ($500 CAD) and successfully complete that exam. It is difficult to get a seat in the exam and can take around 4 months to get a seat and about 6 months until the exam date. (Even with a US education, I had to do this exam).
If she is successful with the IENCAP exam then they will review her courses from India and together with the courses and the IENCAP results, determine if she is eligible to write NCLEX-RN, which is the national licensing exam. Then if she passes this exam, and meets the other criteria (completion of Jurisprudence exam, proof of english proficiency, proof of citizenship or permanent residency, criminal reference check and health fitness to be a nurse), she can apply to CNO for a license.

Is there no way to use the Indian BScN to get admission for Canadian MScN or MN?
Nursing programs are entirely separate from licensing and having a MScN will not automatically allow your cousin to become a Registered Nurse.
Each school varies in terms of their admission requirements and it is highly unlikely they would accept a nursing degree from India when they have so many applicants who have nursing degrees from Canada.

* I should add that if she does not pass IENCAP (you can only do the exam once) or if after reviewing her IENCAP results and her coursework from India, the CNO decides it's not enough to meet Canadian nursing competencies, they can ask her to take some courses (this would occur only if she did poorly in a few specific nursing competencies) or ask her to take her entire degree over again in Canada.

 

[Ihssaneco]

Hi guys,
I'm a newbie here and I thank you a lot for all the informatio you provide to us IENs from all around the world. I've looked for any experience of a Moroccan nurse but there aren't any in here. I'm an anesthetist nurse with 4 years experience, i already applied for a PR but i just got aware of the NNAS process, the thing is: in Morocco an anesthetist nurse studies for 3 years to get a diploma, but not a bachelor, what should I chose in my NNAS process: RN (4yrs) or RPN (2yrs)? I'm very confused. Thanks for your help.

 

[RN_0001]

Hi guys,
I'm a newbie here and I thank you a lot for all the informatio you provide to us IENs from all around the world. I've looked for any experience of a Moroccan nurse but there aren't any in here. I'm an anesthetist nurse with 4 years experience, i already applied for a PR but i just got aware of the NNAS process, the thing is: in Morocco an anesthetist nurse studies for 3 years to get a diploma, but not a bachelor, what should I chose in my NNAS process: RN (4yrs) or RPN (2yrs)? I'm very confused. Thanks for your help.

With your education it is more likely that you will be able to become a RPN than a RN. So it depends. The minimum education requirement to be a nurse in Canada is a 4 year BScN. So you will have to go back to school in order to be a RN. If your goal is to work in Canada as soon as you can, I would apply for RPN. Although, "soon" in this case could be more than one year.

 

[Ihssaneco]

With your education it is more likely that you will be able to become a RPN than a RN. So it depends. The minimum education requirement to be a nurse in Canada is a 4 year BScN. So you will have to go back to school in order to be a RN. If your goal is to work in Canada as soon as you can, I would apply for RPN. Although, "soon" in this case could be more than one year.

Thank you, I have öne more question, I already passed ielts for immigration purposes but and ıt's still valid but the problem iş that NNAS are asking for the academic type i only passed general. But with all my studies done in French will they accept TEF as mentioned on their website? Because im willing to pass TEF anyway to add to my CRS score. Thanks in advance.

 

[RN_0001]

Thank you, I have öne more question, I already passed ielts for immigration purposes but and ıt's still valid but the problem iş that NNAS are asking for the academic type i only passed general. But with all my studies done in French will they accept TEF as mentioned on their website? Because im willing to pass TEF anyway to add to my CRS score. Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure. But i would think that if all your studies were in French you could get a waiver on the language requirement. People who do their studies in English are able to get the language requirement waived and since Canada is a formally bilingual country I can't imagine they could treat the French language any different than the English language.

 

[Ihssaneco]

I'm not sure. But i would think that if all your studies were in French you could get a waiver on the language requirement. People who do their studies in English are able to get the language requirement waived and since Canada is a formally bilingual country I can't imagine they could treat the French language any different than the English language.

Thanks man, I sent my question to NNAS, and they didnt give me a satisfying answer. Anyway, i ll keep you updated.

 

[iblessed]

Thanks man, I sent my question to NNAS, and they didnt give me a satisfying answer. Anyway, i ll keep you updated.

Being a French speaker you might be better applying to Quebec may be easier than other provinces in Canada. All the best

 

[iblessed]

Being a French speaker you might be better applying to Quebec may be easier than other provinces in Canada. All the best

I would suggest looking at the requirements for there.

 

[RN_0001]

Being a French speaker you might be better applying to Quebec may be easier than other provinces in Canada. All the best

Good suggestion. Quebec doesn't use NNAS so that is nice, but I'm not sure what they have in place of it.

 

[canada11]

Hi guys,
I'm a newbie here and I thank you a lot for all the informatio you provide to us IENs from all around the world. I've looked for any experience of a Moroccan nurse but there aren't any in here. I'm an anesthetist nurse with 4 years experience, i already applied for a PR but i just got aware of the NNAS process, the thing is: in Morocco an anesthetist nurse studies for 3 years to get a diploma, but not a bachelor, what should I chose in my NNAS process: RN (4yrs) or RPN (2yrs)? I'm very confused. Thanks for your help.

You should apply for both RN & RPN. Even if you have 3 years diploma & are allowed to be RN in your jurisdiction country you can apply for RN

 

[Tborne]

Thanks. What kind of work experience?[/QUOTE
Sorry for the delay responding to your question. I have 8 years working as RN in rehab.

 

[Mli]

Hi everyone,
I got a letter from CNO saying that my nursing education requirement does not meet the canadian nursing education for RN. CNO is directing me to give OSCE. I am a registered nurse from India and many of my aquaintences have failed in OSCE. I want to go for additional education straight away, Is it ok to go ahead with it? Also CNO identified competency gaps in my nursing education, how do I search for nursing courses based on that? I heard about the bridging course offered in York university, but will that bridging course meet the gaps specifically identified by CNO in my nursing education? How do I ensure that I took the right course? And also if I applied to Seneca college for the 4 yrs BScN degree, will they give me credts for my nursing education and cut short the course from 4 yrs to 2 yrs? Please can anyone in this forum guide me?