Purpose
To establish clear guidelines for internationally educated nurses (IENs) in Canada seeking to write the CNA Certification Program exam.
Background
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is committed to supporting IENs in their pursuit of nursing excellence in Canada. IENs can use education and experience obtained outside of Canada to fulfil the eligibility criteria to write the exam.
Criteria
IENs must meet the following criteria to write the CNA certification exam for their desired specialty:
- IENs must be registered or licensed with a Canadian provincial or territorial nursing regulatory college.
- IENs must have an endorser who is employed in Canada. The endorser can be a supervisor/consultant, nurse manager, nurse educator, clinical leader, clinical nurse specialist, director of human resources, or physician.
- IENs must meet the requirements for option A or B:
- Option A — experience: 1,950 hours of working experience over the past 5 years in their nursing specialty, with a minimum of 488 hours of this experience having been obtained in Canada.
- Option B — specialty education and experience: IENs must have proof of a minimum of 300 hours of completed formal specialty education AND have a total of 1,000 hours over the past 5 years of working experience in their nursing specialty.
- Specialty education may include education obtained outside of Canada. Certificates provided as proof of education must identify the specialty in either English or French, or in a format (e.g., unlocked PDF file) that permits the CNA Certification Program to copy and paste the text into a translation system for verification.
- The working experience must include a minimum of 488 hours obtained in Canada.
- IENs must be able to write the exam in Canada during the applicable spring or fall exam administration dates. This requirement includes both in-person and online examination options. At this time, CNA certification exams cannot be written outside of Canada.