Alberta Health Services IEN Information Centre

Welcome to the Alberta Health Services Internationally Educated Nurses information centre.

You can complete pre-arrival education, ask questions about living in Canada / Alberta and review resources to help you prepare for arrival and orientation. This page is updated often. We encourage you to review the Frequently Asked Questions, resources and roadmap.

Everyone's journey is different. You may already have some of the required information and testing complete. This page is meant to be a general overview of the information and steps required to complete your journey to Alberta.

If you have questions related to your personal file with Alberta Health Services, email IEN.ACNO@ahs.ca.

If you have questions related to your personal with Covenant Health, email careers@covenanthealth.ca.

Welcome to the Alberta Health Services Internationally Educated Nurses information centre.

You can complete pre-arrival education, ask questions about living in Canada / Alberta and review resources to help you prepare for arrival and orientation. This page is updated often. We encourage you to review the Frequently Asked Questions, resources and roadmap.

Everyone's journey is different. You may already have some of the required information and testing complete. This page is meant to be a general overview of the information and steps required to complete your journey to Alberta.

If you have questions related to your personal file with Alberta Health Services, email IEN.ACNO@ahs.ca.

If you have questions related to your personal with Covenant Health, email careers@covenanthealth.ca.

What do you want to know about Canada / Alberta?

What temperatures do we see throughout the year? How often is French spoken? Is our maple syrup really that good? If you have questions about Canada and/or Alberta, ask it here! One of our recruitment team members will respond. These questions may be made visible to other members of this page to support information sharing. 

You need to be signed in to add your question.

  • Hello, how long it takes to get work permit after getting AAIP approved and thereafter, the start date after getting work permit visa. Thanks

    yadwinderkaur0047_1641 asked 17 days ago

    Hello,

    The processing times for work permit approvals varies greatly amongst individuals and is dependent on a lot of factors. Once your immigration is approved and you have a CRNA RN license, your start date is typically about 3 months or more away.

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Good morning, a couple of questions for both living in Canada and immigration. 1. For the initial BLS certificate requested is the one I have completed in Australia remain valid for the one year or will I need to do another one shortly after arrival. Does this happen as part of mandatory hospital training or do you have to do this yourself with an outside agency. 2. In relation to purchasing a house/unit, is this possible to be done (obviously if one is in a financial position to do so) within the first year of arrival or is there a ban on immigrants purchasing properties. 3. If you had to choose a good place to go hiking where would it be and in which season? 4. Is the public transport reliable in Calgary. Thank you

    Findamop_6960 asked about 1 month ago

    Hello,

    1. Starting in May, candidates will be doing BLS certification during orientation in Edmonton.

    2. You may purchase a house/condo during your first year of arrival if feasible.

    3. See the links for information about hiking and winter safety. Hiking in the winter in the mountains can be dangerous as you need to be aware of avalanche terrain.

    Hiking | Canada's Alberta 

    Winter Safety | Alberta Parks 

    4. Public transportation is fairly reliable in Calgary but situations can arise that may cause delays. Download the Calgary Transit App to track real-time schedules.

    Thanks,

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hello, How does employment with Covenant Health differ from Alberta Health Services (AHS), particularly in terms of relocation funding?

    mekreztadesse2022_3875 asked about 2 months ago

    Hello,

    Relocation funding is the same for AHS and Covenant.

    Thanks,

    International Nurse Recruitment Initiative 

  • Hello, if someone is employed by AHS as IEN, how can the spouse who is also a Nurse secure a job with AHS while still awaits to write his NCLEX ?

    megakushie_6985 asked about 2 months ago

    Hello,

    Your spouse can apply to get a provisional permit (GN permit) from CRNA. If they are issued a GN permit, then they can apply to jobs on the AHS Careers page. Once they pass the NCLEX, then their license will get converted to RN.

    Warm regards,

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hello, how do we secure places in school for our kids. My son is in year 7 but we are still in immigration process and we are still in UK. do we get a placement for them in advance to relocating. I was hired in Foothills Medical Center. Thank you

    Reizelannelogana_7057 asked 2 months ago

    Hello,

    In Calgary, the main school systems are the Calgary Catholic School Division (CCSD) and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE).

    Every child has a designated school based on their home address. Once you have your Calgary address, you can begin the registration process by reviewing the following links and/or contacting your preferred school to ask for assistance.

    New to Canada | Calgary Board of Education

    TRUE North

    Warm regards,

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hi, How many job offers can an applicant receive after a successful interview? If I am not satisfied with the job offer, can I decline it, and do you provide any additional offers? Thanks,

    ansuanil114 asked 3 months ago

    Hello,

    You may decline your job offer but you will not be offered another one and will be withdrawn from the initiative.

    Thanks,

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hello, please i want to know how long it takes to get a start date after a job offer from Ahs and a visa

    chisom72emma_0742 asked 3 months ago

    Hello,

      Once your immigration has been approved, it may take 2 months to get a start date as we work with your site to determine the optimal start date. 

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hello. I have some questions pls 1. What is the average cost of rent for 2 bedroom in Calgary 2. Is there a a bus service to Foothill Medical centre Calgary

    Oluchimiriam_8454 asked 3 months ago

    Hello,

    Average cost of rent in Calgary is highly dependent on which neighborhood you are looking at. As Calgary is quite large, there is bus service to Foothills Medical Centre.

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative

  • Hello, I am an Internationally Educated Nurse (IEN), and I would like to kindly ask how long I should expect to wait to receive a job offer after being accepted by Alberta Health Services (AHS). Thanks,

    salem_mohammad123_9303 asked 3 months ago

    Hello, 

    The time it takes to receive a job offer varies for everyone. The process to match candidates to positions can take time but when a match is made, we will contact you.


    Thanks

  • Hello, I have few questions regarding: 1. What colour of scrubs can I get as my prospective site is foothills medical centre? 2. Work shoes or crocs? Thanks

    Ijeomanneji05_3380 asked 5 months ago

    Hello,

    When you get your manager's contact information, you can reach out to them about what color scrubs are appropriate for their unit. Work shoes are recommended. Crocs are not recommended as they do not completely cover your foot and often have an open back.

    Thanks,

    AHS International Nurse Recruitment Initiative