Nurse practitioners must have a minimum of 900 practice hours as a nurse practitioner (family, adult, pediatrics) in the three years immediately preceding renewal. At least 300 hours must include direct clinical practice with clients.
Practice hours for NP educators
If you are an educator for a BCCNM-recognized NP education program, time spent in clinical practice oversight of nurse practitioner students can be counted toward your clinical practice hours requirement.
Knowing what to count
Nurse practitioner practice hours build upon entry-level competencies by applying them to clinical practice, education, administration, or research. You must have:
- What CAN be counted
-
- Paid employment in an NP role
- Self-employment in an NP role
- Regulatory college, nursing union* or nursing association work
*Nursing practice hours should not be confused with seniority hours in a union.
- What you CANNOT count
- You can only count hours where you were engaged in nursing practice. You may NOT count:
- Time absent from practices for reasons such as sickness, vacation, maternity, education, disability, or another type of leave.
- Hours worked in a role that does not require NP registration (e.g. registered nurse or registered psychiatric nurse roles)
- On-call hours (but not actually practising)
- Hours working in a job predominantly selling products
- Time spent caring for family members or friends/neighbours
Reporting practice hours
You will self-report your practice hours for the previous year on your registration renewal application. You'll be asked to provide a total number of hours, rather than a breakdown of direct clinical versus other types of NP practice. However, please keep this detailed information for your records in the event that your practice hours are audited.
Unable to meet practice hours requirement?
Contact BCCNM Registration at
register@bccnm.ca to discuss your situation.