Internationally trained B.C. nurse says accreditation took too long in time of need

One of B.C.’s newest nurses is finally ready to work in this province, after a lengthy accreditation process.

Emma Beaumont did her training at Brigham Young University in Utah, graduating nursing school in April 2021. She returned home to Abbotsford last summer, ready to help on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but couldn’t.

“Everything we hear on the news is begging for more health-care professionals to join the field,” she told CityNews. “I really felt like I had a responsibility to come and work in my own country. I had helped out a lot in the States while I was in school and I felt like it was my time to come back to Canadian soil.”

The accreditation process for internationally trained nurses can take several months — too long in Beaumont’s view. She explains the process of studying internationally, applying for a nursing licence in any province or territory in Canada requires going through the National Nursing Assessment Service.

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The organization looks at all of a person’s credentials, evaluates them, and compares them to a Canadian nurse’s education, Beaumont says. Once this is done, she says you are able to apply to the regulatory body in the province you wish to practice in.

Beaumont figured the process would take “a few months,” but notes after checking with the NNAS, found out the process can take a minimum of 12 weeks or up to a year for evaluations.

This week — nearly six months after she applied — her review was completed. Beaumont found out she had gotten the approval she needs just moments after speaking with CityNews.

“It has been a long and emotional route to try and go through this process,” she admitted.

Her journey isn’t over yet, though Beaumont doesn’t expect this next chapter to take quite as long. Now that she has her NNAS approval, she’s now required to apply for her B.C. licence, which she says should take a few weeks.

“It’s quite a long journey just to even get your licence to start practicing here in Canada.”

Beaumont isn’t alone in her struggles. She has shared her story online, connecting her with many other nurses who are finding themselves in a similar situation.

She says she and many others believe changes are needed.

“I’m not sharing this to bash anyone or critique the system how it is because I am definitely in support of the fact that we need to have certain standards and credentials met for our health-care professionals,” said Beaumont. “I am suggesting, however, that there could be a different process or an expedited process in order to get nurses in the hospitals, especially when there are such shortages.”

It’s not just time that’s the issue either. Beaumont says some nurses can’t afford the cost of getting credentials transferred, forcing many to pursue work outside of the fields they’ve dedicated their studies to.

“It’s quite disheartening and sad to see that we have such a vast number of nurses who have come from these other countries that have various skills and different perspectives that they could offer that could really be an asset to our health-care systems, and instead they are forced to choose either lower paid positions … or to entirely quit the field and do something else because this assessment process is so expensive.”

Moving forward, Beaumont hopes to help bring change, saying she’s reached out to her MLA to express her concerns.

She would also like B.C. to somehow expedite the process — similar to Ontario — to allow nurses to get into hospitals, even if they’ve studied elsewhere.

In Ontario, the province’s plan will see participants be supervised by a licensed nurse or doctor. These internationally trained workers will ultimately have the opportunity to become permanent staff. Hundreds of nurses have already applied.

As B.C.’s health-care system continues to face pressure due to COVID-19 hospitalizations and staff absences due to illness and exposures, many have said internationally trained workers are sitting on the sidelines for far too long.

-With files from Kier Junos, Lisa Steacy, and Theresa Barrera