This one-year graduate certificate program is for experienced internationally educated nurses holding a four-year bachelor`s degree in nursing, who wish to practice in Canada. Through theory, labs, simulation, and supervised clinical practice, this program focuses on caring for the client in an acute clinical setting. It allows students to develop skills in critical thinking, decision making, nursing diagnosis, care planning, implementation, and evaluation of care. In addition, course content will cover the philosophy, culture, communication skills, ethics and practice of professional nursing in Canada. The program includes extensive clinical experience in an acute-care setting.

Graduates, who have successfully passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN) to join the College of Nurses of Ontario, may gain employment as a Registered Nurse (NOC 3012).

Registered Nurses provide direct nursing care to patients, deliver health education programs and provide consultative services regarding issues relevant to the practice of nursing. Nurses are employed in a variety of settings; including hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities, rehabilitation centres, doctors` offices, clinics, community agencies, companies, private homes and public and private organizations or they may be self-employed.

Approximately 121,488 people work in this occupation in Ontario (CNO, 2019).

As efforts are being made to expand home and community care and enhance inter-professional primary care organizations, job opportunities for this occupation in community care settings will rise. The demand for healthcare is expected to grow as the proportion of seniors in Ontario is projected to increase.