Recruitment of Registered Nurses

Resolution Category Provincial Scope 11
Subject Social
Year 2012
Status Adopted - Expired
Sponsor - Mover
Brooks, City of
Active Clauses

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association urge the Provincial Government to work with the College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta to accept satisfactory document reviews completed by other provinces and to licence foreign trained nurses when they successfully complete the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination.

Whereas Clauses

WHEREAS it is difficult to recruit registered nurses to rural Alberta;

WHEREAS the College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) requires successfully recruited foreign trained nurses to undergo a document review and will not accept document reviews completed by other provinces;

WHEREAS obtaining the original document from foreign countries can take months if the prospective nurse is not physically present in his/her country of origin;

WHEREAS all Canadian-educated registered nurses must successfully write the Canadian Registered Nurse Examination which gives them a license to practice independently; and

WHEREAS foreign trained nurses who pass this same exam must still complete 225 hours of supervised and satisfactory nursing prior to receiving a licence even if they already have several years of excellent experience.

Government Response

Apr. 10/13—Health

The province is working with the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) on its process for recognizing foreign qualifications. Before an internationally educated nurse arrives in Alberta, he or she can access CARNA’s online International Applicant Self-Assessment to determine eligibility to practise in Alberta and what documentation is needed. CARNA also recognizes nurse registration from other provinces or the territories, as well as Canadian experience, per the Agreement on Internal Trade. The National Nursing Assessment Service, will be conducted in the near future; the program will be a central service to authenticate and validate documents of all internationally educated nurses applying to work in Canada.

Alberta Municipalities notes

AUMA accepts this response.