Registration with the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC (CRPNBC) is mandatory to practice as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse in the province of British Columbia.
Registered Psychiatric Nurse Full Registration Requirements
Psychiatric Nurses who have are not registered in British Columbia must apply to the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC (CRPNBC) to be assessed for registration eligibility. Each application is assessed based on the following criteria:
1. Graduate of a diploma program in psychiatric/mental health nursing, undergraduate or graduate degree in psychiatric/mental health nursing, or
2. Graduate of a diploma in general nursing, and certificate or advanced diploma in psychiatric/mental health nursing, or undergraduate or graduate degree in psychiatric /mental health nursing
3. Nurses whose native or first language is not English are required to provided evidence of English Fluency
4. Proof of having successfully completed the required registration examination in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, or Manitoba according to the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Endorsement Agreement
5. Evidence of good character
6. Evidence of meeting minimum practice hours requirement of 1400 hours accumulated over previous five years
7. Receipt by the Registrar of required documents by the CRPNBC
8. Payment of required fees
The CRPNBC registration application package containing detailed instructions and forms may be requested online through their website at www.crpnbc.bc.ca or by telephone at 604-944-4941 or in writing to Suite 251-3041 Anson Avenue, Coquitlam, BC, V3B 2H6
More comprehensive registration information is available on the CRPNBC website.
Interim Permits
Only practicing members of the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of BC (CRPNBC) may call themselves Registered Psychiatric Nurses. In order to practice in British Columbia as a psychiatric nurse you must have either a practicing CRPNBC membership or have been issued an Interim Practice Permit. Interim Practice Permits are issued by the CRPNBC to allow nurses who have been assessed by the regulatory body to work as a psychiatric nurse in BC while awaiting completion of practicing registration requirements.
Interim Permit Requirements
1. Nurse has met all CRPNBC registration requirements, has been assessed as eligible to write the registration examination, and has applied to write, and is waiting to write the examination, or has written and is awaiting the examination results; or
2. Nurse is currently registered in another Canadian jurisdiction and is completing the registration process.
Maximum Length of Permit is three months.
Please visit the CRPNBC website for more detailed information about Scope of Practice and Restrictions while working on an Interim Practice Permit.
Registered Psychiatric Nurse Examination
Unless you are a graduate of a British Columbia program in basic psychiatric-mental health nursing, you must receive permission by the Committee on Registration to write the registration examination.
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