Filipino Nursing Herald

Nursing registration applicants to Canada will begin taking the NCLEX-RN examination starting Jan 2015, says the Canadian Council of Registered Nurse Regulators. A one day educational conference in April this year is planned to allow educators and regulators to learn more about the NCLEX-RN program, which will be used as the basis for entry to practice in the nation. Volunteers are also being called upon to help develop the NCLEX exam bank.

Canada continues to accept skilled workers who meet its stringent requirements. Since last year, the Canadian government introduced a cap system that limits the number of applicants every year. This limit, however, is not intended to deter qualified applicants but is aimed at reducing the application backlog and better manage the processing of applications. Qualified nurses are still welcome to apply, although there is a cap of 500 applications per year. To learn more about the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and the changes that took effect on July 1, 2011, you may follow this link . We are writing this guide to help anyone planning to immigrate to Canada as a federal skilled worker. It is targeted at nurses, in particular, who are hoping to immigrate to Canada but it may be used by anyone applying who want to apply as an immigrant under Canada's FSWprogram. Who is eligible First of all, who are eligible to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker program? There are 29 eligible ...

Recruiters and agencies charge exorbitant fees to assist you with the filing of an immigrant application to Canada. Although the application process may seem complicated, it really isn't difficult at all and you can do it yourself for a quarter of what these recruiters are asking you to pay. Watch this space as I will show you how it's done.

Over the past weeks, we've received news that a number of nurses have sucessfully left for work in Canada. The employment opportunities, of course, depend so much on their performance in the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE). Passing the CRNE is mandatory to get a nursing license in that country. Each province oversees its own nursing application program and each may have its own set of requirements, much like in the U.S. where each state have different licensing requirements. To get an overview of the application process in Canada, you can start at the Web site of the Canadian Nurses Association .

Starting February 2008 and until February 2010, the Canadian Registered Nurse Examinations (CRNE) will be composed of multiple-choice questions only. Aside from multiple-choice questions, the CRNE in the past also had fill-in-the-blank questions. Last year, a scandal broke out because some or all of the questions in the short-answer part (fill-in-the-blank) were alegedly leaked out in one examination . About 15% of the entire test was composed of fill-in-the-blank questions. There are 300 questions in the updated CRNE, which is a mandatory exam to get a nursing license in Canada. About 40% of the questions are independent questions while the remaining 60% are presented within cases. For more information, you can read the press release from the Canadian Nurses Association Web site by clicking here .

Here's another news story that just supports our earlier post about the strengthened recruitment drive in Alberta, Canada: Alberta fishing for foreign nurses More foreign nurses are expected to flock to Central Alberta after the province pumps $5 million into recruitment efforts. “It’s absolutely excellent. It’s obvious the province has made this a priority and is moving fast on it,” said Karmen Fittes, director of shared services with the David Thompson Health Region. She hopes about 50 of the foreign nurses who respond to the government initiative will end up calling the Red Deer area their home. More than 100 registered nurses are needed across the health region for the workforce of about 2,000 RNs. (Red Deer Advocate)

The Canadian federal government has given Alberta the go-ahead and C$530,000 in funding to fly overseas and recruit foreign nurses. Officials from Alberta will be able to recruit and assess nurses without requiring these nurses to fly to Calgary's Mount Royal College first to take assessment exams, CBC reports . The move is intended to help Ottawa fill thousands of nursing vacancies. The pilot program is expected to save time and money as assessors can now go directly to places that have traditionally supplied nursing manpower and evaluate them in their own countries. During the assessment program, assessors look at the nurses' experience, education, and English skills. If an education upgrade is required of a nurse, classes can be taken that lasts from a few weeks to a year. **Personal Note** This is good news for Philippine nurses who want to try their luck in Canada. We don't know yet when the first assessors from Alberta will come over, but please be alert for potential...

The Canadian Nurses Association says there will be a shortfall of 78,000 nurses by 2011, rising to 113,000 by 2016 in the country, CTV.ca reports .

Despite what we posted last time about Canada, the country is still a land of opportunity for many. In the past weeks, for example, about 90 Filipino nurses have been recruited to work in the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region, according to the Leader-Post. See story here . Information on the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Information on Saskatchewan

Many things about our world bother me. High up on my list is discrimation and racism. Almost everyday, I hear stories of Filipinos being discriminated on just because of our race. Many efforts have been done to resolve this worrisome situation, but a lot more effort is needed to make it go away. I've heard stories about Canada being a land of promises. Some of my relatives have lived there for a long time and some of them have become successful. Yet, the truth about its broken immigration policies and its highly discriminative work environment is truly troublesome. Take this Web site (www.notcanada.com), for example, and see a part of this country's almost hidden identity. Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Joe Volpe acknowledges the issue. Read his comments here on W-Five's story . Even Filipino nurses who have years of experience are forced to work in the lowest positions when they go to Canada. I've heard about a nurse director from one of the larg...

Canadian authorities have begun investigations of a security breach in its own nursing licensure exam in June. Questions that were part of the licensure test were leaked days before the exam was conducted, according to a report by thestar.com. Officials of the Canadian Nursing Association said only questions in the short-answer part (fill-in-the-blank) were compromised. These short-answer questions comprise 15% of the entire test, while multiple choice questions make up the rest of the day-long exam, which had 250 questions in all. Some 5,300 candidates took the nursing test, which is a requirement for licensure in Canada. **** I'm eagerly awaiting how CGFNS will react to this scandal, which strikes so much resemblance to the Philippines' own leakage controversy. Canadian authorities contend that those who passed the exam are qualified nurses, despite being scored based only on the multiple-choice portion of the test, a strategy which our own PRC employed--scoring candidates b...

Headhunters from Canada have reportedly started luring Filipino nurses away from Ireland, where the government refuses to give citizenship status to Filipino immigrants, even to those who have stayed there for over seven years. In the past few weeks, Canadian recruiters have gone on a massive recruitment drive to get as many as 250 Filipino nurses to move to Alberta, where green cards and better wages await them. There are about 10,000 Filipino nurses in Ireland and only a few have been granted citizenship. The Irish government does not recognize educational credentials of the spouses of Filipino nurses and Filipinos pay higher school fees for their children because, without citizenship, they're classified as international students.

Here's an interesting article about an ongoing issue in Canada, where doctors are demanding the return of a special team of nurses who solely perform venipuncture or IV insertions on patients. Based on the story, the Vancouver Island Health Authority has pulled out the IV insertion team that works night shifts, but a group of doctors--anesthesiologists, in particular--and nurses are clamoring for the return of this team. The doctors said they've seen too many patients who've been bruised and bloodied from missed IV insertion attempts. A more interesting link I found, however, was a testimonial from an American nurse who says Filipino nurses are particularly good at this skill.

ABS-CBN's Bandila reports that work opportunities for nurses are currently available in Canada, Spain, Australia at New Zealand. We've earlier blogged about opportunities in New Zealand and Australia, but it's also good news to hear about new opportunities for Filipino workers in Canada and Spain. Canada is busy preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics, that's why they're inviting seasonal workers to help build the infrastructure needed for the Games. Aside from construction workers (heavy equipment operators, welders, painters, etc.), they're also looking for cooks, hotel workers, truck drivers and even people who'd work restaurants and fast food chains. Around 600 nurses are needed in the city of Saskatchewan in Canada. You can get more information on beautiful Saskatchewan here . Aside from caregivers, nurses and engineers are also being invited to apply for jobs in Spain, the Philippines' former colonial master. To qualify for a job in Spain, applican...