Vancouver Coastal Health Authority

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) is managing a new English language training pilot program for internationally-trained health professionals, in partnership with Kwantlen Polytechnical University. The program will provide ESL training specific to the health sector, helping new Canadians with international credentials in nursing, medicine, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other health-related fields integrate more easily into the Canadian healthcare environment.

A few years ago, VCH participated in a program to help internationally-trained LPNs obtain the skills necessary to successfully write the College of Licensed Practical Nurses (CLPNBC) registration exam. Candidates completed courses in workplace English, and attended exam prep sessions for the Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN) exam, and provincial LPN registration exams. Many of the program's participants are employed as LPNs at Vancouver Coastal Health.

Vancouver Coastal Health provides a unique transition and training program to new Canadian nursing employees under the auspices of the Government of BC's Internationally Educated Registered Nurses Post-Licensure Project. Candidates complete seven weeks of classroom, lab, and clinical skills training, followed by a seven-week extended orientation period, working one-on-one with an assigned preceptor. After finishing the program, nurses are hired to permanent, full-time positions on the same unit where their preceptorship was completed. Over 40 new Canadian nurses have completed the program to date, all of whom continue to work at Vancouver Coastal Health.