Provisional registration may be granted to eligible applicants who want to work while meeting their outstanding registration requirements​. If you are granted provisional registration you will be assigned specific conditions you must meet to be eligible for practising registration. When these conditions are met, your provisional registration is automatically converted to practising registration.

If you are not planning to practice nursing before gaining full registration, you do not need provisional registration.​

How to apply 

There is no separate application for provisional registration. You will be asked if you want to be considered for provisional registration when you complete your application for practising registered psychiatric nurse registration.

What you need to know​

Eligibility

To qualify for registered psychiatric nurse (provisional) registration, an applicant must have applied to take, or be awaiting the results of, the nurse practitioner examinations and have met all the other requirements for practising registration.

Responsibilities and privileges

Provisional registrants must satisfy BCCNM's Professional Standards​, Scope of Practice Standards and Practice Standards and all conditions placed on their registration.

Use of title

Individuals with provisional registration may call themselves a “registered psychiatric nurse (provisional)" or "RPN (provisional)." Check the Use of Title pra​ctice standard ​for more information.

Possible conditions on practice​

• That you must write and pass the written nurse practitioner registration examination.
• That you must write and pass the clinical nurse practitioner registration examination.
• Provisional registrants may be monitored* by a registered nurse or nurse practitioner registered with BCCNM. This requirement only applies to provisional registrants who have a condition on their registration that requires their practice to be monitored/supervised.

Monitoring defined

The monitoring physician/nurse practitioner is responsible for ensuring that the practice of the nurse practitioner (provisional) is safe and at the level of nurse practitioner practice, which includes the assessment, diagnosis and management of clients’ health as set out in the Scope of Practice for Nurse Practitioners Standards, Limits and Conditions. The methods of monitored practice need to be worked out between the nurse practitioner (provisional) and the monitoring physician/nurse practitioner, but should include activities such as:

• regularly reviewing the nurse practitioner’s (provisional) assessments of clients’ health, differential diagnoses and/or diagnosis,

• regularly reviewing/discussing recommendations and treatments/interventions made or to be made by the nurse practitioner (provisional), and

• signing all prescriptions and diagnostic tests.

The monitoring RN/nurse practitioner should be on site and/or readily available so that the provisional registrant can consult and or collaborate as needed depending on either the learning needs of the nurse practitioner (provisional) or the needs of the client.

Registration renewal​

• Provisional registration must be renewed annually. Learn more about registration renewal
• Provisional registrants must meet annual registration renewal requirements.​

Converting to practising registration​

Upon meeting all assigned conditions, your registration will automatically be converted to practising registration.​​​