Eligibility
To be eligible for employed student psychiatric nurse (ESPN) licensure, applicants must:
- Be enrolled in a BCCNM-recognized psychiatric nursing education program (or equivalent).
- Meet good character and capacity to practice requirements
- Have an offer of employment.
How to apply
- 1. Create a BCCNM account
-
- Create a
BCCNM account if you don't have one already.
- Once your account is created, you will recieve an email with a link to verify your identity.
You can create a BCCNM account before you have an offer of employment.
- 2. Apply for employed student psychiatric nurse licensure
- When you’re ready, sign into your BCCNM account and complete the application for ESPN licensur. You’ll be asked to provide:
Once your application is complete, BCCNM Registration will do an initial review of your application and follow up with you if more documentation or information is required.
- 3. Pay your licensing fees
- If your application is approved, you will receive an email containing instructions detailing how to pay for your
licensing fee and
professional liability protection.
- 4. Confirm licensure before practising
-
When your ESPN registration is granted, you will be sent an email confirming your licensure and status effective date once the payment has been processed. You must not practise before your status effective date. After your effective date, you will appear in BCCNM’s online directory.
Practising as an employed student psychiatric nurse
- Licensure expiry and reapplication
- ESPN licensure expires on March 31 at 11:59 pm annually and it cannot be renewed. If you need ESPN registration after March 31, you will need to reapply before your licensure expires by following the steps above.
- Maintaining ESPN licensure
- Enrollment in an approved psychiatric nursing program and confirmed employment is required for ESPN licensure. You must contact
BCCNM Registration within
six days if:
- You leave your education program before you complete the requirements.
- You complete your education program. Note: your school will notify BCCNM of the date that you successfully complete the program; we will automatically cancel your ESPN licensure six days after the completion date.
- Your employment with the employer listed on your Confirmation of Enrolment and Employment form ends.
- Practice responsibilities
- Employed student psychiatric nurses are responsible and accountable for their practice at all times. We strongly recommend reviewing the following information specific to ESPNs. All other BCCNM Standards and Bylaws also apply to ESPNs, even if the documents refer to registered psychiatric nurses:
Go to the Practice and Ethics standards section of the website, and review the following standards:
- Employed Student Licensees
-
Nurses: Regulatory Supervision of Students
-
Nurses: Use of Title
- Professional liability protection
- Professional liability protection is a requirement for student nurses. Learn more about the liability protection, legal advice and other services available to you as a beneficiary of
CNPS professional liability protection.
- Resources to support your practice
Applying for RPN licensure
When you are close to finishing your psychiatric nursing education program, you can apply for RPN licensure.
- After you submit your
application for practising RPN licensure and your educational institution sends confirmation of program completion, your license will be updated from ESPN to
provisional RPN.
- The remaining amount of your ESPN licensing fees for the year will be automatically applied to your provisional licensure.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I apply for employed student psychiatric nurse licensure before I have a job offer?
- Yes. Once you submit an online application you'll have six months to find employment and have your employer complete the Confirmation of Enrolment and Employment Form (Form 10.1). If you do not complete the application process within six months, your application will expire and you will need to reapply.
- I need a BCCNM ID number for a job fair/interview. What do I do?
- Create a
BCCNM account. Once you create an account, a BCCNM ID number will be assigned to you. You can submit your ESPN application later.
- How long does the application process take?
- It typically takes 7-10 days to process your application and confirm you are eligible for ESPN licensure once you have submitted all the required information and documents. You cannot practice as an ESPN until registration has been granted, so please ensure you time your application so that it can be processed before your start date.
- What if my employment start or end date changes, or the offer of employment is withdrawn?
- If this happens after you have submitted the
Confirmation of Enrolment and Employment Form (Form 10.1), you must contact BCCNM Registration at
register@bccnm.ca.