Hi Kim,

I have been searching on how to write in this blog for a while now but I can’t find the link so I just made a comment here… Anyway, I just arrived here in Canada just a couple of weeks ago and I’m also from the Philippines like majority of the people here. I just heard about NNAS and immediately signed up and finished my payment. Unfortunately, I need to take IELTS/CELBAN that’s how I landed on this forum. I have already taken IELTS GT back home and got 8 in reading, 7,5 in listening and speaking, and 6.5 in writing. I don’t want to risk and have my papers delayed by failing the ACAD so I’m planning on taking CELBAN… What should I do? Your comments are so positive it keeps everybody’s hopes up. Thank you. JR

Dear JR,

Thank you for your comment, yes this is the best way to reach me from my blog, Dear Kim. In your wanderings around the blog, did you review the page  NEWS: Understanding NNAS and did you see the post:

When should I register with the [National Nursing Assessment Services]?

If you did you would know that you just fell into the CELBAN Trap as an Unsuspecting Newcomer: registering for something upon arrival in Canada without understanding the consequences, ramifications and reverberations to your future and your life in Canada. The first step for anyone to register as a nurse in Canada, being an IEN, is to provide your English Proficiency exam scores. These scores are made available to the public (NNAS Language Proficiency Scores).

IT IS BEST FOR YOU TO HAVE A PASSING SCORE BEFORE YOU APPLY TO NNAS for the following reasons:

1. once you apply your account is valid for one year, after one year you have to pay over $180 to reactivate your account (NNAS Fees Schedule)!
2. if you have a 5 or 6 on the IELTS it will take you 6 months to a year to prepare for the CELBAN to get acceptable scores!
3. it can take up to 6 months to get your required documentation!

Deep Sigh. But you have already begun your process with them, so lets go from there.

*******

That is how I started my reply to JR. Then I gave him a series of questions to evaluate CELBAN Resources. Inspired by this message I finally created A Guide to Evaluating CELBAN Resources.

I invite you to critically think about your options by considering the following questions:

• Preliminary Questions
• Secondary Questions
• Questions about Motivation
• Final Analysis
• What Should You Do?
• Before you do anything….

Some of my other suggestions are:

1. Determine your needs: what do you want, what do you need.
2. Research your options: look for quality training and quality coaches.
3. Decide on which path to choose.
4. Set realistic goals. Commit to your goals.
5. Create a financial plan.
6. Start your preparations as soon as possible.

Remember to:

• Pray about your decision.
• Trust yourself, and trust God in guiding your path.

You will know in the core of your being which steps to take and in which direction to go. You will know when you are ready to take the exam. In doing so you will protect yourself from falling into the CELBAN Trap.

Get your copy of A Guide to Evaluating CELBAN Resources, now available Internationally, through Amazon, at the IEPC Bookstore on the Cloud.

Sincerely,

Kim