National Nursing Assessment Centre NNAS

[SGtoCAD]

Hi I am a RN in Singapore with 3-year diploma in nursing and 3-year working experience.
And all the NNAS documents are ready for evaluation now.
Kindly to ask, does anyone have any idea whether I need to go for bridging course or not.
Will really appreciate your reply!
Cheers!

Hi there, I am from Singapore hoping to migrate to Canada too. Same boat as you were in, 3 yrs diploma with 4-5 yrs working experience.
Care to share any update on your situation? Thanks in advance.

 

[Legentellison]

Hey im an international RN i submitted my application to NNAS they said it meets the requirements my english wavied because im migrating from jamaica...has anyone here migrated from the caribbean and went through the process what should i expect next

 

[RN_0001]

I only had the syllabi from my nursing education at my 2nd university. No information was provided about the prerequisites required other than the course name, grade and credit hours as they were completed at the other university. Which honestly surprised me because I feel like it would have more of an impact....
Ill probably update once I contact Canadian immigration to see if the conditional registration is satisfactory to meet the ability to practice requirement in NAFTA

Thanks for your response. Wow, I am surprised also. So NNAS (and I'm assuming then, CNO, unless you had sent info from your first degree to CNO for them to review) only had syllabi from 17 months worth of coursework and no syllabi to assess the comparability of the courses that were transfer credits from your non-nursing degree. And they still came up with "comparable" in 70% of your competencies and overall "somewhat comparable". So it seems then that they trust the university that granted the nursing degree to determine that the courses taken in previous degrees were okay/comparable and therefore acceptable as transfer credits toward your nursing degree. This is good, I just hope they treat all cases the same--it seems like this whole process is here, there and everywhere--not a lot of consistency and no defined or predictable path. In any case, I am very happy for you that this is heading in a good direction! It seems that "somewhat comparable" is the new "comparable"--there doesn't seem to be much of a difference in how they are dealt with by CNO. Finally they are recognizing the NNAS assessment is underestimating people's true skills.

As for the TN visa, I'm getting more and more nervous every day about the future of our employment while Trump is in power. This time last week, I wouldn't have taken him too seriously regarding sudden changes, but with 12 new executive orders and counting, this guy could prevent us from working where we want to work with one signature. Let's hope NAFTA stays the way it is between Canada and the US and that everything works out with your conditional offer of employment. Fingers crossed.

I appreciate your updates.

 

[RN_0001]

Hey im an international RN i submitted my application to NNAS they said it meets the requirements my english wavied because im migrating from jamaica...has anyone here migrated from the caribbean and went through the process what should i expect next

Hi there. Just for clarification, did you mean that NNAS said your documents meet requirements or your Assessment Report was issued and they said your education is comparable to that of a Canadian education?

 

[RN_0001]

Hi friends.. I got my NNAS report in the month of October and it says not comparable.. I have a masters degree form india and more than 8 years of teaching experience for post graduate and under graduate students... But some of my students who have undergraduate degree when they applied for NNAS they got somewhat comparable.., I don't know on which criteria they use for assessing our education.

Hi there,
Which university did you receive your nursing degree from? Which school did your students receive their nursing degree from (which university do you teach at)?

The NNAS assessment looks through applicant's course syllabi for words/terminology similar to that which is found in Canadian course syllabi. In order to be considered "comparable", the wording needs to pretty much be exact. The results of the assessments are very erratic and inconsistent. NNAS and the provincial licensing bodies will not discuss the rubric or method they use to assess, even though they are supposed to be transparent. So none of us really know much more than that about how the assessment is completed. What we do know is: NNAS assessments are solely designed to measure how well international nursing education compares to Canadian nursing education. However, the assessments are conducted in the United States by Americans who are not nurses. We know that many American-educated applicants have received "non-comparable" on their Advisory Report, and that students who graduated from the exact same nursing programs sometimes receive different assessment results.

 

[RN_0001]

Hi there, I am from Singapore hoping to migrate to Canada too. Same boat as you were in, 3 yrs diploma with 4-5 yrs working experience.
Care to share any update on your situation? Thanks in advance.

Just to warn you, a 3 year diploma won't be accepted. In Ontario, you would either be required to get more education or to take the IENCAP, which is a full day examination consisting of a written portion and scenarios where you have to interact with patients (the patients are actors). This exam costs $400-500 Canadian dollars. If you pass the exam they might consider you to have enough skills to move to the next step which is writing the NCLEX-RN exam.

I encourage you to read people's experiences here on this forum and other forums discussing NNAS experience before you make the leap to move to Canada.

 

[Legentellison]

They emailed me saying it met the requirements and my report would be issued in y to 8 weeks

 

[RN_0001]

They emailed me saying it met the requirements and my report would be issued in y to 8 weeks

Okay so that means you have submitted everything they need in order to conduct the assessment of your education. It is likely to be longer than 8 weeks however. Applicants usually wait many months for their assessment to be completed and their Advisory Report to be issued.

So for now, it's a waiting game. I would plan for your result to be "non-comparable", as that is the likely outcome. When your Advisory Report is issued, you can then have them to release it to the Canadian province that you are wanting to get a license in. The licensing body in that province will give you instruction on how to proceed. It depends on whether you have nursing work experience. I am assuming you do. If you do, they will likely instruct you to complete the IENCAP examination.

 

[Legentellison]

I am an ICU nurse for 3 years and also passed my nclex already...do you think that is an asset

 

[RN_0001]

I am an ICU nurse for 3 years and also passed my nclex already...do you think that is an asset

It is not an asset for the NNAS assessment. NNAS only assesses your education. They conduct this assessment using only your documents from your school where you obtained your nursing degree (transcripts and syllabi). NCLEX-RN becomes an asset when it is time to move forward with licensing and you do not need to study or write the exam again, so it is one less thing on the list of requirements to be met--you can check it off your list! Your experience as a nurse is also an asset in that it will likely allow you to take the IENCAP to have a chance to prove your skills and knowledge, rather than being directed to immediately go back to school without the opportunity to show your skills. Those without nursing experience in the country they were licensed are not allowed to take the IENCAP. In the end, once/if you have met the education requirement, the licensing body will ask your employer to complete documents outlining your current nursing role and duties, which they will use to show you have had evidence of safe practice within the last 3 years. If you have not practiced nursing within the past 3 years, none of this applies. You will be required to go back to school.

I hope this helps. Not trying to be negative, just trying to be upfront.

 

[Legentellison]

I understand thanks for that...i just wanted a feel of what to expect...does everyone have to do the IENCAP...im tired of all these exams...sigh

 

[RN_0001]

..does everyone have to do the IENCAP...im tired of all these exams...sigh

The only applicants who are allowed to do the IENCAP are those who have nursing experience in the country they are licensed in. Applicants who were educated outside of Canada but have not worked as a nurse yet are unable to do the IENCAP. They must either gain nursing work experience at home before applying through NNAS or go back to school in Canada.

I can only speak for Ontario. Up until around September, almost all applicants who had nursing work experience and received "somewhat comparable" or "non-comparable" were asked to do the IENCAP. Since College of Nurses of Ontario is now starting to realize the NNAS does not do a good job of capturing applicants' skills and knowledge, they have begun treating "somewhat comparable" the same as "comparable" by not requiring those who were "somewhat comparable" to do the IENCAP. Although, this is on a case-by-case basis so they still can require it if they choose. They sent letters out to a bunch of applicants who were previously instructed to take the IENCAP and told them they no longer had to take it and would be refunded the $400 fee for the exam. Instead of the IENCAP, they asked them for documentation which outlines their current nursing role/job description. Since it is highly likely your result will be "non-comparable", count on having to take the IENCAP if you are wanting to settle/work in Ontario. You must come to Toronto, Ontario for the exam as it is only available at Touchstone Institute.

 

[Legentellison]

Well i am a PR here in canada migrated a few months now...so lets see how it goes...

 

[RN_0001]

Is there anyone here who applied via the NNAS process and has received their license? If so, which province did you get your license in? NNAS began in August 2014 and I'm interested in knowing how many have been licensed through that process. Regulatory bodies do not provide this information.

 

[SGtoCAD]

Just to warn you, a 3 year diploma won't be accepted. In Ontario, you would either be required to get more education or to take the IENCAP, which is a full day examination consisting of a written portion and scenarios where you have to interact with patients (the patients are actors). This exam costs $400-500 Canadian dollars. If you pass the exam they might consider you to have enough skills to move to the next step which is writing the NCLEX-RN exam.

I encourage you to read people's experiences here on this forum and other forums discussing NNAS experience before you make the leap to move to Canada.

Hi there thanks for the input but maybe i failed to mention that I applied for assessment as an LPN/RPN. Still waiting for an advisory report, it has been 4 months. I want to work in ontario and eventually upgrade my education at york uni where they have a degree course for IEN instead of doing it in my home country. Do you have any tips to share about working as a nurse in ontario?