Types of Nursing in Canada - Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Psychiatric Nurse

There are three types of nursing if you arefor initial registrants for entry to practice into the
considering nursing as a career in Canada:profession of psychiatric nursing should be a
- Licensed Practical Nurse, LPNbaccalaureate degree by the year 2012.
- Registered Nurse, RNOn the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Association of
- Registered Psychiatric Nurse, RPNCanada website there are 7 education programs
In Canada all nursing professions are regulated in thelisted for psychiatric nursing in all of Canada. There is
public interest and you must pass a licensing exam tono legally recognized classification of Psychiatric
become registered in order to practice nursing as aTechnician in Canada. You may see this as a one of
career.the different types of nursing in other countries such
Nursing education for each of these types of nursingas the United States but it is not a recognized type
has common curricular components and someof nursing in Canada.
specialty components. However, the length of nursingRegistered Nursing
education varies and each category has a definedOf the three types of nursing, registered nursing (the
scope of practice.RN) is the most common type. It is typically the
Licensed Practical Nurseregistered nurse that people think of when they think
The Licensed Practical Nurse has 1-2 years ofof the nursing profession. Registered nursing has the
education in a community college or privatebroadest nursing scope of practice.
post-secondary training institute. They have a limitedThere are no hospital based schools of nursing in
nursing scope of practice that is completely containedCanada. A university education is required. Some
within the scope of practice of a registered nursecolleges have partnered with universities and
and cannot work with clients who are complex orstudents can enter a nursing program where the first
require multiple interventions.two years are offered in the college setting and then
In Ontario and some other provinces they are calledcomplete the nursing degree at the university.
a Registered Practical Nurse and this is abbreviated asMost provinces have registered nurse education
RPN. This can be confusing because a registeredprograms that are 4 years in length ( 8-9 semesters)
psychiatric nurse is also abbreviated as RPN in thebut some provinces are now implementing a three
western provinces. In many provinces LPN's were notyear program (9 semesters) as an accelerated
fully utilized for many years and the numbers ofprogram in order to bring more nurses into the
nurses practicing as a licensed practical nurse declinedCanadian health care system more quickly.
dramatically. Because of the pressures exerted byOne province in Canada (British Columbia) is
fiscal restraint and by the nursing shortage which isresponding to increased pressures on the Canadian
quite acute, the licensed practical nurse is now inhealth care system by broadening the scope of
demand again in provinces where they can legallypractice of the registered nurse to include some
practice.tasks that were previously out of scope.
Registered Psychiatric NursingWhen these new regulations are put in place, under
Schools that prepare nurses to enter psychiatriccertain circumstances the registered nurse will be able
nursing are limited to the four western provinces ofto provide a broader range of services than that
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, andprovided by the current regulations including:
Manitoba. There are over 5,000 Registered- ordering ultrasound or X-ray diagnostics (in triage
Psychiatric Nurses registered with the 4 regulatorysituations)
authorities in these provinces.- conducting tuberculosis screening
Registered Psychiatric Nursing is not recognized as a- managing labor in hospital when the primary care
separate type of nursing in the eastern provinces soprovider is absent
that might be why they call practical nurses RPN'sThese changes recognize the current education and
(Registered Practical Nurses). This term cannot beskills of the registered nurse. However, the changes
used in the western provinces because it alreadyare specific to British Columbia as the nursing
used for psychiatric nurses.profession in Canada is regulated provincially. It is
The association of Registered Psychiatric Nurses ofquite possible and quite likely however, that other
Canada recommends that the minimum requirementprovinces will follow suit.