Provisional RN Registration: Opening Doors and Shifting Practices in Nurse Regulation

This article explores the experience of introducing a new classification of registered nurse (RN) registration in British Columbia, Canada. Provisional registration (PR) was introduced for RNs in British Columbia in December 2009.The new registration class provides the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia with flexibility in granting RN registration on a provisional basis with conditions on practice. This type of registration is available to qualified applicants while they work toward meeting the requirements for full registration.Though several types of applicants may be granted PR, the focus of this article is the internationally educated nurse applicant. The authors provide a summation of the development and implementation of the new registration class and reflect on the lessons learned to date.