Nursing Journeys Vol. 5 – Yue Sun

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Originally, Yue wanted to study and work abroad for the sake of her son. 

She worked in China as an RN for 16 years, but in China, nurses usually are not considered as professionals and they receive little respect from patients and even their own family members.

Yue started wondering about going abroad so that she and her son could live a better quality of life – one where she would be regarded as a professional.  The USA and Australia were her top choices at first, but then she began considering Canada too and comparing all of the countries.  After a lot of research, she chose Canada as her #1 choice.

Coming from China, there are very restricted internet resources and limited information available on Chinese websites, so Yue came to Canada through the help of an education agency. 

She says that language and her skills assessment (SEC) were the most challenging parts of her journey.  She not only had to re-train and learn how to be a nurse in Canada, she also had to learn the medical terminology in English – something she was not accustomed to at all.  Yue ended up taking longer to get through the nurse registration process than some of her fellow classmates that came from countries were English was more commonly used.  Many of her classmates at least got the eligibility to challenge the CPNRE so that they could start out as LPNs.  But Yue still struggled with the language and couldn’t move forward.

“I felt really frustrated and thought about going back to China.  My instructor at OMNI, Louise, brought me to her office to discuss my plan. I still remember her words:  “Your knowledge is solid, the only thing is passing the CELBAN exam, we need nurses, Canada needs you…..” Her words continue to inspire me until today.”

Yue pushed on and ultimately achieved her goal of becoming a Canadian RN.

Nowadays, she feels that “in many ways my life today is pretty similar to China because I live in the city of Richmond which has everything Asian.  I can even pay for my groceries in Chinese RMB via Wechat and Alipay!  The difference though is that I’m in a career that I can be proud of, people here consider nurses as one of the highest respected professions.  I am proud to say that I am a nurse.”

Yue’s son now lives with her in British Columbia, and her family visited from China last summer.

Yue is enjoying the Canadian culture, the friendly environment and the mild climate of Vancouver.  “I also get to experience hiking, camping and all the outdoor activities in this area.  This summer I plan buy a kayak!

Career-wise, she says “It’s amazing that we have so many opportunities to work in different fields here. After OMNI I worked in OR for 1.5 years, and now I just completed my training for community health. I also want to explore more medical aesthetic opportunities in the future!”

So – did Yue find the better quality of life for her son, and the respect she was looking for? 

Yes and yes and more.  Yue is now a Permanent Resident and lives with her son in Canada.  She qualified for the Post-Grad Work Permit during the time that OMNI College part of the BC pilot project.  She also talks about one of her friends (also an OMNI student) who qualified for PR without the PGWP.  She got a full-time job in a private facility and qualified through the BCPNP.  She got her PR very quickly “about one year”.

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Yue’s final words: “the original plan for me when I decided to go abroad was to find a better education and quality of life for my kid.  Turns out, my life too has ended up getting better at the same time.  I am trying to make a role model for him.  Being a good nurse and being a good mother.”  

She also added: “Congratulations to OMNI’s 20th anniversary! It’s my honor to be part of this series.  As I always say, without OMNI and all the staff support, I couldn’t make it.  If my story could inspire or motivate someone in the future, even if only a little bit, let’s do it.” ~Yue Sun, RN

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