# Newly Qualified British Nurse Wanting to Move to Canada



## nsb2015 (Nov 22, 2015)

Hello Everyone

I'm due to qualify soon as an Adult Nurse and, for a long time, I have been thinking about moving to Canada (either Vancouver in British Columbia or Calgary in Alberta). My clinical experiences to date have been in surgical; home nursing; medical assessment; emergency care and neonatal nursing. I plan to either practise as an A&E/emergency room nurse; a neonatal nurse or a public health nurse. 

Prior to my career as a nurse, I also trained as an English teacher in further education and I possess a first degree and a PGCE/teacher training qualification. This is in addition to the degree I'll obtain when I finish my nurse training.

1. Am I better waiting a year, to gain post-reg clinical experience before I begin the process?
2. Or, once I qualify, can I begin the process and gain the experience whilst I move up the queue?

I'd really like to connect with British nurses who have gone through this process (in any province or territory), who might be able to advise me on the process and give me their experiences of life over there. I'd be very grateful in return. It would also be great to make some potential friends for when I get over there.

Thanks in advance,

Nick B


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## conflict73 (Oct 18, 2013)

Hi, i would wait and get experience. Trouble is theres loads of nurses wanting work here who are Canadian, registration is provincial so choose your destination then look into it. I'm social worker, took a lot to get registered from uk and i'm born here!


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## nicola_5454 (Dec 18, 2015)

nsb2015 said:


> Hello Everyone
> 
> I'm due to qualify soon as an Adult Nurse and, for a long time, I have been thinking about moving to Canada (either Vancouver in British Columbia or Calgary in Alberta). My clinical experiences to date have been in surgical; home nursing; medical assessment; emergency care and neonatal nursing. I plan to either practise as an A&E/emergency room nurse; a neonatal nurse or a public health nurse.
> 
> ...


Hi Nick,

I moved to Vancouver 6 months ago and have been a qualified UK Adult nurse since 2011. There is A LOT of "hoop jumping" to do both before you get here and after.

Even after my 4 years of working on a kidney transplant ward and working as a ward sister I still cannot work over in Canada as an RN. I am having to pay to go back to school for a year over here because Canadian trained nurses are trained in mental health, paediatric and adult nursing as part as their training (even just to be a regular adult nurse). So I have to go back to school to learn about Canadian medications, their difference in values and how to treat people in hospital and the community and I have to learn about babies (even though i have no interest in that field of nursing) and there is no loop holes. Just lots and lots of money to cough up.

I applied through the NNAS (Have to pay in different stages for this) and I started this process while in the UK 1 year before I came out.
Then they put you in touch with the CRNBC (have to pay for them to look at your form)
Who send you on a 3 day exam to assess your knowledge (these exams include role play situation and written exams of mental health nursing, paediatrics and adult. As well as medication (Canadian meds are totally different to British)…(you have to pay for these exams and pay to stay at the university campus over the 3 days because it is literally in the middle of nowhere)
Then judging by your results from these exams they tell you what you have to do next…
In my case I have to do the bridging program from UK to Canadian nursing. (This seems like a very common thing from what I’ve read and the people I have spoken too)(Cost for this is almost $10,000 – in which you have to get a student loan) and to get on the course you have to have a CRB check which the British police charge you 100 Pound.
After school for 1 year I have to also complete a maternity course (I’m guessing there will be a fee in this too)
Then I can take the state exam and then and only then (if I pass) can I be RN over here. (think this is about $500)
By the time I have RN status I will have been over here almost 2 years. 

I wouldn’t let this put you off though. You just need to know that it’s not easy to convert from UK to Canada. The thing that keeps me going is the bigger picture! HUGE wage rise compared to the UK and the life style is amazing over here. Even after everything I’ve gone through thus far and what I still have to do I wouldn’t change my mind. I was a ward sister and had an amazing job. But sometimes in life you just have to leave your comfort zone and take the jump. Some experience might help as an RN in the UK after qualifying for your own confidence but I don’t think it would make much difference for getting here.

The question is how badly do you want it?…..


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