Calls for B.C. to take action to help internationally-educated nurses get to work
With health-care workers sick and burnt out amidst the ongoing pandemic, B.C. is facing calls to do more to ensure internationally-educated nurses can join the workforce.
Emma Beaumont completed a nursing program at Brigham Young University in the United States in April of last year.
Despite writing the same test as Canadian nurses, she says she's been waiting since August for a response from the National Nursing Assessment Service. The agency is responsible for credentialing of nurses in Canada.
"You're forced to just sit by and kind of watch everything implode, knowing you could do something but your hands are tied," she told CTV News in an interview.
She passed the test and got licenced in Utah. Beaumont then returned to her hometown of Abbotsford, B.C., and applied to the NNAS in August.
She was told it could take 12 weeks.
In the meantime, she applied for, and got, a position at Royal Columbian Hospital as a casual employee. But she can't work there without going through the steps to be credentialed.
"It's disheartening to have to sit on the sidelines knowing you could make a difference. Albeit a small one. But you could make a difference in this health-care crisis we are experiencing."
She said she knows she wouldn't be working on the front lines, but could help in some way to alleviate the nursing shortages making headlines.
A provisional system is available in B.C., but internationally-educated nurses like Beaumont need to get their NNAS documentation first.
Beaumont contacted MLA Mike De Jong who wrote to Health Minister Adrian Dix. In his letter he noted, "I am advised that, starting immediately, internationally-educated nurses will be allowed to work in Ontario hospitals, long-term care homes and other health settings grappling with pandemic related staffing challenges."
He's now urging B.C. to do the same.
"Every day on this newscast, and in newspapers, we hear about the struggles nurses and health-care workers are confronted by, in terms of burnout and the challenges of the pandemic, and yet nothing appears to have been done to tap into this talent pool," he explained in an interview.
Even though the Health Ministry isn't in charge of credentialing, the MLA suggests there may be other ways to expedite the process.
"Make use of the emergency powers that exist as other provinces are doing to ensure that people like Emma can go to work."
Dix was not available for an interview and the Health Ministry didn't respond by deadline.
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives estimates between 300 and 400 nurses trained outside the province apply for credentials each year.
Beaumont, who has taken a different job while she waits for approval, says she wants to highlight that this is an issue.
"I'm just hoping that we can spread awareness that there are nurses who are eager and willing to support the system and get to work. And we're kind of sitting with our hands tied," she added.
When Beaumont receives her NNAS assessment, she'll have to go through the provincial process to get her credentials recognized, which could take another 10 weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca