There has been a recent change to the evaluation process by the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) for Internationally Educated Nurse (IEN) applicants. On 04 March 2021, the council of the CNO amended the process for evaluating IEN applicants for registration as a Registered Nurse (RN) in Ontario. The new process now includes passing the NCLEX-RN exam on or after 01 January 2015. This exam is meant to demonstrate that applicants have the required entry-level nursing judgment, knowledge, and skill to satisfy the nursing education requirement.
This means that IEN applicants who go through the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) and apply to the CNO, but are deemed to not have equivalent nursing judgment, knowledge, and skill based on the NNAS’ nursing education assessment, will now meet the nursing education requirement IF they have successfully completed the NCLEX-RN exam on or after 01 January 2015. Those who completed the NCLEX-RN exam BEFORE 01 January 2015 will NOT have their nursing education requirement approved.
Even if an applicant has passed the NCLEX-RN exam on or after 01 January 2015, it is still necessary to apply to NNAS as a first step. If an applicant is educated outside of Canada and not currently registered as a practicing RN in Canada, they must begin the process by applying to NNAS. NNAS first ensures that applicants have completed a nursing program that will prepare them for the type of nursing they wish to practice, and the type of nurse they want to be registered as. This assessment of education programs allows the NNAS to identify any gaps in judgment, knowledge, and skill as they pertain to applicants from different regions. Since applicants can apply to many jurisdictions in Canada, this process makes the validation and authentication of documents consistent.
Every applicant must provide education documents, identification documents, verification of registration, verification of employment, and proof of language proficiency to NNAS for authentication and validation. Once the applicant applies to the CNO, it is the CNO and not the NNAS which makes the final determination in validating the applicant’s nursing education, including the NCLEX-RN exam results.
It should be noted that successful completion of the NCLEX-RN exam on or after 01 January 2015 does NOT fulfill the requirement for either language proficiency or evidence of practice requirement.
If another Board of Nursing or nursing regulatory body allows an applicant to write the NCLEX-RN and they pass the exam, the Board of Nursing or regulatory body can send your results directly to the CNO.
Please fill the form below and you will be notified about a FREE zoom meeting shortly!
Nurse Registration FREE Zoom meeting
Free zoom meeting for all International nurses who would like to seek Nursing registration in Canada every 2nd Friday of every month at 9 pm EST (6 PM PST). participants from overseas please google 9 pm Toronto time to calculate your time.