May 11, 2016
Starting in June, Langara Continuing Studies is offering a preparation course for the Canadian English Language Benchmark Assessment for Nurses (CELBAN).
As an assessment tool, the CELBAN is designed to determine the English proficiency of nurses who are internationally educated and interested in applying for their license in the nursing profession in Canada.
Langara’s 40-hour course is a pathway program that will provide students with real working scenarios, practical situations, and opportunities to improve their communications skills and fluency in the run up to taking the CELBAN.
Two course schedules are being offered as flexible options for nurses with busy lives and full calendars. The weekday program takes place on Wednesday evenings (with one Saturday included) and the weekend program takes place on Saturday mornings.
Recognized by national nursing licensing bodies, CELBAN is managed by a national entity – The CELBAN Centre – and administered by test sites across Canada. Nurses may take the benchmark assessment under three conditions: they are interested in being registered by a provincial regulatory body, they were previously educated as a registered nurse in another country, and they have a native language other than English.
In 2002, Statistics Canada estimated that in 2016, Canada would experience a shortage of 113,000 registered nurses; an alarming number that would significantly impact the quality of the country’s health care system. Internationally educated nurses were identified as a solution to help ease the projected shortage, and a survey from over 50 professional nursing stakeholder organizations across Canada found that a nursing language assessment tool would be of benefit and necessary to put this program in place. After comprehensive project development and planning, the CELBAN was implemented in 2004.
Learn more about the Langara program here, and for more information on the CELBAN, visit the CELBAN Centre.
For CELBAN inquiries, contact:
Jeff Madigan
jeffreymadigan@langara.ca
604.417.9674
About Langara
Located in beautiful Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Langara College provides University, Career, and Continuing Studies education to more than 21,000 students annually. With more than 1,700 courses and 130 programs, Langara’s expansive academic breadth and depth allows students of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages to choose their own educational path. Langara is also known as house of teachings, a name given to it by the Musqueam people on whose unceded traditional territory the College is located.
Learn more.
Rolf Savella
Communications Officer
Langara College