Practical Nurse Re-entry

Note: This program is deleted, effective May 2016.

Across Canada, demand for licensed practical nurses is on the rise. If you're considering returning to active practice, there's never been a better time or broader range of opportunities.

Practical Nurse Re-entry is an applied certificate program that will bring you up to speed on new techniques, technologies and procedures, so you can re-enter the field as a competent practitioner with the knowledge, judgment, skills and attitudes to bring a uniquely holistic, humanistic approach to patient care. It is a distance education program offered over the internet and through home study, which means you can take it wherever you live.

Who qualifies?

The Practical Nurse Re-entry program is specifically designed for individuals who:

• have previously been registered in Canada as licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and are eligible for re-registration in Saskatchewan, or
• are currently registered and want to update and evaluate their knowledge and skills

Individuals who have not been registered in Canada as an LPN and do not meet the competency profile of the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses may be required to take the Practical Nurse Re-entry program.

On graduation, if you previously were registered in Canada you'll be licensed as an LPN. If you previously were not licensed in Canada, you'll be eligible to write the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration exam.

Come back to Nursing with Saskatchewan Polytechnic

Whether you want to re-enter the profession or simply to update your skills, Saskatchewan Polytechnic offers one of the most respected practical nurse re-entry programs in Canada. Our small class sizes mean more one-on-one interaction with faculty. High-tech simulation learning centres use near-life scenarios to give you hands-on practice. Clinical practice education lets you transfer your skills into the real world.

The program is designed to enable completion on a part-time basis within a two-year time frame. This lets you build your professional credentials while maintaining job and/or family responsibilities.

Your Career

Licensed practical nurses today enjoy a growing number of career opportunities. Most LPNs work in acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, medical centres and extended care facilities. Choose an area that interests you: gerontology, maternal-child, medical, mental health, palliative, pediatric, rehabilitation or surgical nursing.

You also can pursue a career in a community setting: a nursing clinic, home care agency, private nursing agency, community health centre or physician's office.

For more information about career opportunities related to this program, contact Student Employment Services at the Saskatchewan Polytechnic campus nearest you.

For more information, contact pnre-entry@saskpolytech.ca.

• Online



Some online programs include on-site labs, clinicals, practicums or work experiences. Online programs may be offered course-by-course or full-time, or both, and deliveries may change over time.

This program has one or more courses that you can register for immediately.

View the A-Z course listing for a complete list of courses and additional information.

Admission Requirements

• A letter from the regulatory body in the province where the candidate will be registered recommending the candidate for the Practical Nurse Re-entry program and indicating evidence of English language proficiency, including the test and score.
• Proof of current Transferring, Lifting and Repositioning (TLR) certification is required prior to entry into the clinical practicum.
• Current CPR Health Care Provider "C" AED or equivalent is required prior to participating in CLIN 227 Practical Nurse Re-entry Clinical Experience.
• Current immunization is required prior to participating in CLIN 227 Practical Nurse Re-entry Clinical Experience.
• A Criminal Record Check is required prior to participating in CLIN 227 Practical Nurse Re-entry Clinical Experience. A student may be declined access to a clinical placement based on the contents of the Criminal Record Check. A student must complete the clinical practice experience to graduate from the program. The cost of the Criminal Record Check is the student's responsibility.

Admission Method

The First Qualified/First Admitted (FQFA) process is used for the majority of Saskatchewan Polytechnic programs. When we determine that you meet the program's admission requirements, you will be offered admission based on the date you fully qualify for the program. The earlier you provide the appropriate documents and information that qualify you for admission to the next intake, the earlier you might begin your studies. Your application, once qualified, is always considered for the next intake. 

Applicants to programs with multiple intakes in an academic year remain in the application pool until the last intake for that academic year has begun. Programs using the FQFA process receive applications year round and maintain an application pool for each academic year. Qualified applicants who are not offered a seat must reapply for the next academic year. 

Sponsored programs or programs targeted to specific groups do not accept applications year round or maintain an application pool.

See Admission Processes for more information about this method of admission.

Not applicable at this time

• You will have two years to complete the program.
• Because there is no faculty support available during July and August (ongoing theory courses), these months are not counted when determining your course end date.
• For student loan purposes, the program is considered to be equivalent to 27 weeks of full-time study.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition

Saskatchewan Polytechnic recognizes that adults learn in many different ways. This includes acquiring knowledge and skills through life and work experience or non-formal training.  See links below to more information about PLAR and detailed PLAR candidate guides for courses in this program.

• Candidate Guide
• Candidate Guide (Department of Arts and Sciences courses)
  • communications, mathematics, sciences, social sciences
• More about PLAR

Transfer Credit

Many Sask Polytech students benefit from transferring course credit. You may be eligible to transfer credit to Sask Polytech or to another college or university.

• Personal Readiness

• Continuing Care Assistant
• Perioperative Nursing LPN
• Practical Nursing
• Psychiatric Nursing