NWT’s nursing regulatory body changes licence requirements

The regulatory body for nurses in the NWT and Nunavut has eased some of its nursing practice hour requirements.

Coupled with the recent introduction of a credential assessment system for foreign nurses, the decision could make it easier for some nurses to enter the NWT workforce.

Previously, all nurses needed 1,125 hours of nursing practice to be licensed in those territories.

Under nursing body CANNN’s old policy, nurses who wanted to work in the NWT or Nunavut had to gain those practice hours – the hours needed to acquire or maintain a registered nurse’s licence – in another Canadian jurisdiction.

The issue partly involved the NWT’s limited capacity to provide the oversight necessary for nurses to gain those hours.

Complicated situations sometimes resulted. One nurse described having licences from both Ottawa and Alberta, plus 4,000 practicum hours from India, but still being told to head south for another 1,125 hours before she could work in the NWT.

As a result, some nurses told to go south to gain hours said they simply would not return – all while the NWT faced a significant shortage of nurses.

Now, after the establishment of a working group to understand the demographics of international nurses in the territory, CANNN has changed its requirements.

Last month, CANNN said people now need 450 nursing practice hours in the past two years or 1,125 hours within the past five years to be eligible to work in the NWT as a registered nurse. Under the old rules, only the latter was accepted as the qualifying requirement.

“The updated requirements better reflect the dynamic nature of nursing
practice and ensure continued alignment with professional expectations across health disciplines,” the regulatory body stated in a news release.

In an email, CANNN chief executive officer and registrar Megan Wood said the regulatory body is also accepting applications from nurses wishing to move directly from their country of origin to the NWT or Nunavut, who do not plan to gain practice hours in another Canadian jurisdiction.

Those nurses can apply for licensure by completing a competency assessment through an agency named Inspire Global Assessments. Information about the assessment fees can be found on the organization’s website.

Days after CANNN’s announcement, the GNWT said it was launching an online survey “to gather baseline information on the number of IENs [internationally educated nurses] who are not working within their trained profession in the NWT, and the nature of the barriers they are experiencing, as well as their background practice experience.”

International nurses who wish to participate in the survey have until May 25 to send in a response.

One nurse’s experience

Internationally educated nurse Sarah – not her real name, as she requested anonymity to discuss sensitive details of her employment – moved to an isolated Alberta community when told she needed to leave the NWT to find the necessary practice hours.

She had completed roughly 600 hours by April, making her eligible under the new system to apply for an NWT licence.

Sarah said her Alberta workplace made things simple. She received online training, had a staff house arranged, and didn’t have to worry about paperwork because everything was handled digitally.

“They want to retain nurses but in Yellowknife, no one is ready to teach you,” she said.

“They have more nurses, more facilities. The hospital in Yellowknife is like a five-star hotel.

“Yellowknife just needs two new nurses to show around or orient [nurses] for a couple of weeks. You don’t need to move to the south for seven to eight months.”

Sarah plans to stay in Alberta until she is confident she will receive a registered nurse’s licence to work in the NWT upon her return, citing distrust in the territory’s healthcare system after the challenges she faced for a year and a half.

“Finally, I am working as an RN. I am so proud of myself that I took the decision to move here. I know I work as the best nurse on the floor right now,” she said of her move to Alberta.

“It’s not easy leaving family behind, when you’re travelling every two months to see them.”