FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NANB Board Approves Rule Changes to Expedite Nurse Registrations
FREDERICTON March 27, 2023 – The NANB Board has approved rule changes that will expedite registration of Canadian registered nurses (RNs) in New Brunswick starting March 29, 2023. Similar to the process being implemented in Nova Scotia, RNs currently registered and licensed in another province or territory will have met the requirements of NANB’s counterparts in that jurisdiction and should therefore be able to safely be registered and licensed in New Brunswick.
“NANB as the regulatory body for registered nurses and nurse practitioners in New Brunswick commits to support public safety by continuing due diligence in registering safe, and competent nurses,” says Julie Weir, President of the NANB Board of Directors. “With a strong sense of trust amongst regulators within Canada, we believe these rule changes will assist the health care system in addressing the current nurse shortage in our province.”
Canadian RN applicants will still be required to provide government issued identification; however, registration verifications will remain the responsibility of NANB. Criminal record checks, currency of practice documents and application fee will be waived, while jurisprudence requirements will be suspended for these applicants.
In addition to these rule changes, the NANB is working to prepare a plan that will be presented to government that will help expedite the registration and licensure of internationally educated registered nurses even more. This process will especially target countries where nurses are trained in either French or English with similar nursing education programs and scopes of practice.
“Adapting registration requirements through rule changes is a short-term solution to recognizing a greater need of modernizing the existing Nurses Act in New Brunswick,” says Denise LeBlanc-Kwaw, Chief Executive Officer of NANB. “The Nurses Act has not been updated in almost 40 years and the changes in the health care system that directly impact nursing is an example of the need to prioritize this project over the coming months in collaboration with stakeholders and the provincial government.”
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