May 9, 2023
National Nursing Week in Canada occurs May 8-14, 2023. This week is to recognize and appreciate the nursing profession by acknowledging nurses' tremendous impact on the health and well-being of our communities.
We look forward to continuing our essential work with Alberta's nurses as they continue to contribute to the health of our province.
As a regulatory body in Alberta, the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) focuses on our mandate to regulate the profession in the public interest.
Our priority this year has been to modernize and streamline registration processes, and align these processes with our commitment to fairness and equity. The improvements we have made so far add access and create affordability for applicants. Initiatives that are underway, or were already implemented this year include:
Reducing barriers through overhauling how evidence submission is made by internationally educated nurses. Since the launch of the process updates on April 4, 2023, an unprecedented 1,403 applicants have met the registration requirements and have already been issued permits to practice. 464 of these permits were to applicants that applied using substantial equivalence. Many nurses were already here in Alberta but were prevented from having their experience recognized by previous barriers. There are also 425 applications currently in progress using the new pathways. For context, we issued 1,142 permits this year to recent graduates.
We will continue to remove barriers for nurses to provide health care to Albertans, while ensuring our public protection mandate. There continues to be focus on improvements and will make more announcements as they are implemented.
Joy Peacock
CEO & Registrar