Relocation services for British Columbia, Canada

Registering with Nursing Colleges

The first step is to register with the appropriate Nursing college.

If you want to practice as a Registered Nurse or Psychiatric Nurse then you must be registered with the appropriate college:

• Registered Nurse
  College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia;
• Psychiatric Nurse
  the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of British Columbia;

Also if you use the title “nurse” you must be a member of one of the above colleges or of:

• Licensed Practical Nurse
  the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia.

Registered Nurse registration requirements

Nurses who have never been registered in British Columbia can apply to RNABC to have their eligibility for registration assessed. An application package is available from the CRNBC web site.

This is a summary of the the CRNBC’s registration requirements for an RN.

1. Completion of an approved nursing education program deemed equivalent to an approved basic nursing program in British Columbia. Basic nursing programs prepare nurses to be generalists, which include theory and clinical training in Adult Medicine and Surgery; Maternity and Obstetrics; Mental Health and Psychiatry; and Pediatrics.
2. Competence of practice based on graduation from an approved nursing program within five years or less; or minimum of 1125 hours accumulated over the previous five years or less; and successful writing of the Canadian Nurses Registration Examination.
3. Good Character based on references; no record of criminal charges or convictions; no record of nursing registration having been suspended, disciplined, or revoked; and no dishonesty or misrepresentation on application for nurse registration.
4. Fitness to engage in the practice of nursing based on satisfactory employment reference(s), registration in good standing in other jurisdictions, no health problems that impair ability to practice, and fluency in English.

The Canadian Nurses Registration Examination (CNRE)

Applicants for nurse registration in British Columbia are required to pass the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination. The examination is 8 hours long and consists of approximately 300 multiple choice and short answer questions. It measures the competencies required of entry-level nurses for safe and effective practice .

Preparing for the Examination

There are a number of ways that you might want to consider if you are taking the CRNE.

• RNABC has learning resources for you to study.
• There is Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE) Prep Guide available from the Canadian Nurses Association.
• You can take the readiness test provided by the Canadian Nurses Association.
• If you feel you want to take a refresher course then the International School of Nursing and Health Studies in Coquitlam have an exam preparation course. [Site under construction - anyone know if this is still in operation?]

Psychiatric Nursing

Registration requirements

Registration with the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC (CRPNBC) is mandatory to practice as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in the province of British Columbia. There are about 2,000 practicing RPN’s registered with CRPNBC.

Psychiatric Nurses who have are not registered in British Columbia must apply to the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC (CRPNBC) to be assessed for registration eligibility. Full details are on their web site.

Each application is assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Graduate of a diploma program in psychiatric/mental health nursing, undergraduate or graduate degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing, or
2. Graduate of a diploma in general nursing, and certificate or advanced diploma in psychiatric/mental health nursing, or undergraduate or graduate degree in psychiatric /mental health nursing
3. Nurses whose native or first language is not English are required to provided evidence of English Fluency
4. Proof of having successfully completed the required registration examination in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba according to the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Endorsement Agreement
5. Evidence of good character
6. Evidence of meeting minimum practice hours requirement of 1400 hours accumulated over previous five years

Registered Psychiatric Nurse Examination

Unless you are a graduate of a BC program in basic psychiatric-mental health nursing, you must receive permission by the CRPNBC’s Committee on Registration to write the registration examination.

Getting a nursing job

In BC one of the best places to find a job is Health Match BC. This is a service funded by the Province of BC. They recruit on behalf of over 100 health care facilities across the province. They will guide you through BC’s registration, licensing and immigration procedures.

They really come into the picture once you have gone through the registration process as they will look for an employer who is willing to sponsor you through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

Under the PNP the employer nominates you after offering you a post, via Health Match. You still have to fill out all the paperwork for immigration as a skilled worker.

However because of the shortage of registered nurses you are likely to be granted a work permit while your permanent resident application is being processed. This will significantly speed up your arrival in BC.