Dear IENs,

With the announcement of the Centre for the Evaluation of Health Professionals Educated Abroad (CEHPEA) as the new national administrator of the CELBAN, I contacted them on your behalf to obtain information that I could share with you about the upcoming changes. I was delighted to receive a communication written especially for you, as readers of Dear Kim!

Please know that when CEPHEA explains, “Please note, if you had a previously scheduled CELBAN test, we will prioritize registration in the order that you first registered. ” I know this to be true. Over the past two weeks I have spoken personally with many IENs who were registered for the CELBAN with CELAS from September to December, 2014. Those who were registered for exams have been contacted directly by CEPHEA and have been offered exams. As explained in their message to you below: everyone else will be welcome to register as soon as the online registration process is available.

I also know that their statement, “Reinstating exams is our top priority” is true. Good things are around the corner with their reinstatement of the CELBAN plan. They have accomplished much in Phase I. Exam dates have been established, and will be expanding. Test sites are being arranged, and will be expanded. All of my communications with CEPHEA tell me that they really do, “take this responsibility very seriously”. Before you know it, you will be able to choose your exam date and location.The question is:

Will you be ready?

The time to prepare is now!

Please read the message below, where CEPHEA explains the transition process, including the reinstatement of the CELBAN. They also answer the following questions:

• How do I reschedule my exam?
• How do I schedule a new CELBAN exam?
• Which test sites are re-opening?

Finally, they have a note for those who have professional deadlines.

May this message bring you peace, and spark the flame of motivation so that you engage once more, or continue to engage, in your preparations with hope and ambition.

Sincerely,

Kim

It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few weeks since CEHPEA became the new national administrator of CELBAN. In that time, we have been very busy.

Moving forward, let’s keep the lines of communication open, starting with our plan for CELBAN.

The Transition:

By the end of October 2014, we will be using a new online registration system. Moving registration online will help IENs create profiles, select test sites, and view results in a fast and easy way. We are confident that online registration will be a very convenient way for IENs to manage their CELBAN profiles.

Reinstating CELBAN:

Reinstating exams is our top priority.

We will begin to REINSTATE exams in mid-OCTOBER, 2014. Once that is achieved, we plan to conduct “pop up” sessions to address wait lists. A pop up session is a temporary site offering the CELBAN.

These changes are exciting and significant. We thank you for your continued patience as we work hard behind the scenes to make them happen.

How do I reschedule my exam?

Applicants will be required to register using the online registration system. Please note, if you had a previously scheduled CELBAN test, we will prioritize registration in the order that you first registered. For example, if you had scheduled a test in September 2014, you will be first in line to register when CELBAN is REINSTATED. We will move through the list in this way until all previously registered IENs are rescheduled.

How do I schedule a new CELBAN exam?

If you are registering for CELBAN for the first time, you can use our online registration system when it launches in October 2014. Visit www.celban.org , or email celban@cehpea.ca for CELBAN updates.

Which test sites are reopening?

Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Hamilton sites will all reopen in October 2014.  In the next phase, The CELBAN Centre plans to increase the availability of CELBAN. Please check www.celban.org or email celban@cehpea.ca for CELBAN updates.

Don’t jeopardize your professional timelines:

We know that delays in language testing can cause delays in your licensure, so if your nursing registration deadline is coming up – consider the IELTS option. IELTS is also accepted by nursing regulators and is widely available (http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/locations/canada  OR http://ieltscanadatest.com/).

We know that there is a lot of work ahead, and we take this responsibility very seriously. We look forward to working with IENs from across Canada for the long term.

Please share this message with everyone you know!