Telephone:
416 928-0900

Toll Free in Ontario:
1 800 387-5526

Fax:
416 928-6507

Page modified February 23, 2010

More Information For:

Public

Employers

International Applicants

Students

Media

The College of Nurses of Ontario regulates the nursing profession to protect the public. One way the College does this is to set the requirements for becoming a nurse in Ontario. These requirements ensure that all nurses, no matter where they were educated or practiced, have the knowledge, skills and judgement to provide safe, effective and ethical care to the public.

The College has worked closely with other stakeholders to develop initiatives that will help you understand and meet these important requirements. The resources and links are posted below.

If you have questions, please email us at cno@cnomail.org or call our Customer Service at 416 928-0900, or toll free in Ontario at 1 800 387-5526.

Resources for Internationally Educated Applicants

Becoming a nurse in Ontario

For detailed information about the requirements for registration and to help you assess your qualifications, visit the Registration Guide for Internationally Educated Nurses.

Bridging programs for internationally educated applicants

Bridging programs are designed to help nurses who have completed their nursing education outside Canada meet registration requirements.

These programs:

require you to have applied for CNO registration, have been assessed, and have received a letter of direction that recommends what steps you should take to meet the requirements
are designed for applicants who were educated as registered nurses in another country
provide an opportunity for college-educated applicants to enter a university nursing program in Canada
give you the opportunity to gain evidence of safe practice
may provide an alternative for international applicants who do not meet the baccalaureate requirement for RN registration to qualify for writing the RPN examination

Program locations

School	City	Language	Contact
Algonquin College	Ottawa	English	Mary Jane Burrows 613 727-4723 ext. 5085 or 1 888 684-4444 ext. 5085
Centennial College	Toronto	English	Edward Cruz 416 289-5000 ext. 8001
La Cité collégiale	Ottawa	French	Lise Boulet-Groulx 613 742-2493 ext. 2093
Fanshawe College	London	English	Fran Tran 519 452-4430 ext. 4203

George Brown College	Toronto	English	Gayle Bradley 416 415-5000 ext. 2872
Mohawk College	Hamilton	English	Nancy Brown 905 540-4247 ext. 26705

General nursing education programs

Collaborative baccalaureate programs for RNs and diploma programs for RPNs are also available. These courses are geared to individuals with no nursing background.

Other resources

Examination schedule Information on examination dates, locations and fees.
Preparing to write the RN and RPN national exam Tips and resources for writing the national nursing examination.
CARE Centre for Internationally Educated Nurses
Funded jointly by the federal and provincial governments CARE provides a variety of services including individual supports and guidance, exam preparation courses, nursing readiness assessment, nursing specific language courses, financial and workplace job shadowing.
Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council
TRIEC is a multi-stakeholder council that is working to improve access to employment for immigrants in the Toronto region.
Interdisciplinary Studies
A series of lectures and presentations to introduce international health professionals to concepts of health care delivery in Canada.

[top]

						101 Davenport Road Toronto, Ontario M5R 3P1 CANADA