At CELBANPrep University’s virtual campus we offer more than you can imagine. That is why this 2-minute video is about 3 things you might not know about preparing for CELBAN writing through CPU.
Recently, I updated all the posts about information about the CELBAN, CELBAN skill development programs, and online CELBAN Preparation courses.
What I realized, is that although so many people come to Dear Kim to learn about the CELBAN and CELBAN preparation:
Only one IEN wrote me from the US, asking me about the LPN process.
And, only one wrote to me asking how to prepare for the CELBAN from the UK.
So, despite the 400 articles, none answer questions for people located in the USA!
Only one was written for IENs in the UK!
I am about to change that!
First, we will explore:
Over a Quarter of a Million People have come to Kim @ CELBANPrep!
Internationally Educated Nurses in the USA, UK, and Australia
Then we will consider the following variables:
Were you educated in the medical field in the US? (the UK? Australia?)
Are you a Registered Nurse or a Licensed Nurse?
When should I apply for NNAS?
How can I prepare for the CELBAN while in the US of A?
What can you tell me about the CELBAN Books.
What can you tell me about CELBANPrep’s online Preparation Courses?
Let us begin by exploring who has come to CELBANPrep for help!
Over a Quarter of a Million People have come to Kim @ CELBANPrep!
Since the inception of Dear Kim, in 2012, there have been over a quarter of a million views of my blog. 326, 550 views in Canada alone! Astounding.
And in that time, 12 000 views have originated in the United States:
Almost 1000 views in the last year,
250 in 2021,
150 in the last 90 days.
Not only that, 1500 views originated in the UK!
What is remarkable to me is that because Dear Kim has been both organic and responsive (IENs send messages to me and I write the reply, and post them there) I have not gone into the stats, nor have I specifically created a list of topics to write about and dates to publish them.
With the announcement of the CELBAN being available online, I was just updating the posts about CELBAN Preparation also being available online. (I had to update the posts I wrote back in 2018.)
While the information in those links is valuable for you, in the US, and while the https://dear-kim.com/tag/celban-preparation-internationally/ tag is also helpful: there is more specific information for people preparing for the CELBAN in the United States of America and other English speaking nations.
Internationally Educated Nurses in the USA, UK and Australia
Internationally Educated Nurses in the USA, UK, and Australia
There is a lot to be said about IENs in the USA because there is so much variation!
And, the education system in Canada is very much a learner-centered system.
So, that means that there isn’t just one answer for everyone in the US or Australia and the UK for that matter.
Just because you are in an English-speaking country does not mean that you do not have to go through the process created in Canada for Internationally Educated Nurses.
There is a sorting-out process when it comes to your education.
Were you educated in the medical field in the US? (the UK? Australia?)
If you were educated in the medical field in the US (the UK or Australia) the process is different for you as compared to the nurses who are living in the US (the UK or Australia) but have been educated in the Philippines, India, or elsewhere.
That is important to know. Because the answer to this question determines whether or not you have to take the English proficiency exam: either the CELBAN or the IELTS.
I have a friend who is a Labour and Delivery Nurse, living here in Canada. She is from Texas. She had to go through the entire IEN process, but she was not required to take the English exam.
I was teaching a nurse, who lived in the US, who told me that even though she had passed the NCLEX, and was an RN, she still had to provide the results from her English proficiency exam.
I have been teaching an IEN that was born in Canada, but her family left when she was 5 years old. She became an LPN in South America and returned to Canada as an Adult. She is required to provide the results of her English proficiency exam.
It is the provincial Colleges of Nursing, through the National Nursing Assessment Services, that determine whether or not you need to take the CELBAN or IELTS as an English test.
Are you a Registered Nurse or Licensed Nurse?
This is another discerning question.
If you are an RN or LPN practicing in the US (the UK or Australia) your process in applying for a license in Canada will be different as compared to an Internationally Educated Nurse from say India or the Philippines who like many IENs in Canada have not completed the licensure process, and are working as Health Care aids or some other unlicenced profession or field.
When should I apply for NNAS?
That is why, for IENs from the US, the answer to this question is, “It depends.”
It depends on where your medical training occurred.
It depends on where you are licensed to practice as a nurse.
It depends on where you were born.
If you were both born and educated and licensed in an English-speaking nation (the US, the UK, Australia) then the English proficiency exam may not be required. It is only when you apply to NNAS that you will discover if you, as an individual, are required to take an English exam. To you I would say, apply to NNAS first to discover your steps and procedure.
But,
If you were educated and licensed outside of the US, the UK, or Australia….
If you do not have a license to practice medicine in the US, the UK, or Australia….
Take the CELBAN first.
Get your score.
Find out whether or not you can get the required score. Get your report with the feedback for speaking and writing. And if necessary, develop your skills so that you can get the required score.
This will save you time, money, and a great deal of stress.
How can I prepare for the CELBAN while in the US of A?
That is where CELBANPrep comes in.
Once you have determined or discovered that you have to provide English test results, and have decided to explore the CELBAN, there are several options.
First, read the posts written to people living in other countries outside of Canada. (This post is clearly laid out.)
Then, decide what you are looking for, and how much are you willing to spend.
Do you want books or courses?
What can you tell me about the CELBAN Books?
There are two types of books available on Amazon, through CELBANPrep Publishing:
Preparation Guides (Paperbacks – Sept. 8 2021)
CELBAN Writing Preparation Guide: Healer Master the CELBAN
CELBAN Speaking Preparation Guide: Healer Conquer the CELBAN
CELBAN Reading Preparation Guide: Healer Discover the CELBAN
CELBAN Listening Preparation Guide: Healer Explore the CELBAN
Grammar Essentials (Paperback – Sept. 20 2021)
Nouns & Articles (Book 1 of 3)
Verbs & Verbals (Book 2 of 3)
Punctuation (Book 3 of 3)
These guides and volumes are available through the following national Amazon sites:
It took time, but now CELBANPrep University has the most extensive library of resources available to you, at various price points, to assist you in preparing for the CELBAN no matter where you are in the world and how much you can afford at this time.
At the end of the day
At the end of the day, that is why it was both important and necessary to address the needs of Internationally Educated Nurses residing in the US (the UK and Australia). Being English speaking nations, the process for you as an IEN is different.
And just because you are living in an English speaking nation does not mean that you get to skip the IEN process.
The process for every IEN, because Canada is so student-centred, is different. It is the same with patient-centred care in the hospitals. The more you understand the significance of student-centred learning the better you understand the Canadian education and medical systems, the better you understand the CELBAN.
I hope this article helps you, your friends, and your family members living cross the US, in the UK, and/or in Australia have a better understanding of the process of becoming a nurse in Canada, and how to prepare for the CELBAN through CELBANPrep.
COVID has changed our lives substantially. But some of the changes are good. After 10+ years of the CELBAN being delivered face to face and only in Canada with the announcement of the Computer Based Test, CELBAN CBT, in January of 2021:
The CELBAN is available online,
It is available internationally, and
IENS can take the CELBAN more than 3 times.
What that means is that as a service provider, CELBANPrep is changing too. As a result all of the articles on Dear Kim have to be updated. With more than 400 posts and 700 comments that is alot of content to wade through. The hope is to have the entire blog updated for Canada Day: July 1st, 2021.
(When you are reading articles on Dear Kim, look for “Updated 2021” at the top to know if the post is current and updated.)
Today I was updating Where should I start? originally posted in January 2015. So much has changed since then.
In writing that post I began answering the question, “How much does it cost?” I decided to create a new and separate post on that topic.
Hi Kim,thanks to google I was able to found you.i read a lot of your blog articles for dear Kim.i’m now encourage to take my celban exam.i took my ielts once last year, my score was as follows Listening-6,reading-4.5,writing 5.5,speaking-6.0.from that time I didn’t have anymore interest to take again.because I’m afraid to fail,I feel also that I would not be able to pass.i wanted to try celban last year but I keep on postponing,I don’t have the confident,I feel that I will fail,I even thought that I would not pass.now I want CELBANPrep. Hope to hear from you Best regards L..
Hello again! First of all, i want to say thank you for all the support you have given me despite the fact that i was not able to become an active student that time. My first experience to take the CELBAN early this year still went smooth despite my tremendous lack of self confidence and time ( as i described to you my condition before). Kim i got 8 for speaking, 10 for listening, 9 for reading…..BUT a very huge BUT only 6 for writing. The result was fine at first because i tried to console my self that i could just try LPN and not go for RN anymore for when i got my result that was the time that CLPN in our province were accepting applicants with some differences in the English assessment results. After 6 months CLPN approved me for CCA but they still want me to update my English result. That was the time that my heart shattered because first, i tried to settle for less than what i dream to become; second was that the next available spot for CELBAN is March ; third, i din’t know anymore how to approach the writing and lastly, i will have to be retested again for listening. Its just recently that i managed to forgive myself and forego of the wrong decisions that i made. From this moment , my experience made me more matured in approaching my goal. I had learned another life lesson and now i need to apply it. Kim, with humility, please recommend to me any [reources] for the writing and listening that you think would be able to help me. Thank you very much for reading my letter. S
Yes I am and I am from the Philippines. We came here with my family as immigrant last July 26 last year. So, we’re only 1year 3months in Canada. I’ve taken IELTS,CLB but not yet of CELBAN. The last time I took the Ielts was last feb here in Canada. It was too bad because I got a score of 6. I took also one in the Phil last June before we came here in Canada and I got OBS of 6.5 which is higher than the recent one. Is CLBPT and CLB the same? Yes, I took already twice of CLB. The first time I had it was last Sept.17 wherein I had scores of 6,7,7,8 (listening, speaking, reading, writing). The second one was in VCC where my scores were 6,7,8,7. G
I’m great! I am from Swift Current, came from Philippines about 3 years ago. I just took CELBAN and I got 9 listening, 8 reading, 6 writing and 7 for speaking. I wanted some review materials to read at home anytime coz I have two jobs it is hard for me to adjust
Hi Kim! Im so amazed with all the stories that i read, that lead me to write you my story wondering maybe you can help me. T’was my dream to be a nurse when i was a kid! Luckily that. was year 2000,when I becme an RN in the Philippines. Due to financial struggles in our family,i went to Saudi Arabia to help my parents sending mu 4 other siblings to college and gaining experience too. That 7 years was so great for me as a nurse, especially i learned a lot. Then, I decided to come here in Canada under in a caregiver program year, that was 2007 . While i was in that program I took several times in ielts exam but failed. To make story short,I’ve been here now in Canada for almost 7 years and yet my road to become an RN here is still dim out and hoping you can be my light to pursue my dreams. I dont know how to start, im so desperate, frustrated ,hopeless especially i have a 2 year old baby boy now. But with all the stories from your previous studs my hopes reignited. My last IELTs exam result 2 years ago,reading & listening 6.5 , writting 6 , speaking, 7. CLBPT result just recently: listening 8,Speaking 7,reading 8,writing 6 I did not try Celban exam but Im planning to try at this time. Mr Kim, I really really need your help! Thank you M
I’m doing fine, yes it is nice here in Winnipeg, except for the very cold weather.
I’m from Philippines, I’ve been in Canada for two years. This is the first country that we moved/lived into since we came from the Philippines. I don’t have a CLB score, because I didn’t took that assessment, but I did took CELBAN before, actually I already took CELBAN twice, but unfortunately I’m not lucky to pass.
My scores at the first time were: Listening 9, Reading 8, Writing 6, Speaking 7,
and the second time were: Listening 9, Reading 9, Writing 7, speaking 7.
They said that my weaknesses in writing were as follows:
some grammatical error make it difficult to understand the text
problem with prepositions
problem with verb tense
some problem with possession forms
Weaknesses in speaking:
pronunciation problems
work on grammar and vocabulary so that I can choose the correct words, word forms and word order to ask questions, and express my ideas clearly and accurately
problems with question formation
problem with singular/plural forms
problem with verb tense
I need to redo it all again, I hope you can help me, I feel so depressed after I received the score report from celas.
I’ve been reading your “Dear Kim” blog articles less than a year. I’ve contemplating to do my bridging program for RN in [province]. I procrastinated though, due to my fear of not passing the IELTS.
[My city] is such a nice place, it’s growing so fast. Sometimes, I like it. Sometimes, I don’t. I came here to Canada 5 years ago as an LPN from the Philippines. I used to be an RN back home. I am currently working in a busy floor, it’s a combination of Labour and Delivery, Postpartum Unit and Gastrointestinal Surgery. Once in a while we also get the not so very young. I have a permanent resident status and just recently submitted my citizenship application.
I love what I do, I know that I was born to be a nurse. Lately, our LPN scope of practice in Alberta has expanded. There are only 3 things an LPN in our unit can’t do. Be an Obstetrical Nurse, spike a blood bag and be a charge nurse. Other that than, LPNs do everything. However, we get paid less. Less than $20/hour.
I want to be honest with you, I want more. I want to get paid more on how good I am.
Does this make me a less nurse? I hope not.
I have a long history with IELTS. Back in 2007, I started taking up the test in Manila for my New Zealand application. They were requiring a band score of 7 on each modules. I took the test 9 times! You know why? Because my writing was always a band score of 6.5. So, I gave up.
I took the plunged again. I sat for IELTS exam. Even though, at the back of my mind, I should’ve taken CELBAN. My test score was L: 8.5 R: 7.5 W: 6.5 S: 7.5 Overall Band Score: 7.5. I was broken-hearted. I was 0.5 away, again.
I speak English everyday at work. I am well-read. I follow CNN newsfeed on social media and loves watching documentaries. I love travelling. I can speak with confidence and smitten anyone with my charming genuine smile, but I suck on writing.
After checking the CELBAN site that test dates and locations will be posted soon, I decided to seek your help. I promised to work hard. I borrowed all the IELTS materials I could borrow from our public library. But, I have nightmares on writing. So, could you please help me prepare for the test? I need your guidance.
Thank you for your time and I hope to talk to you soon.
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Dear Kim 