According to the Government of Canada, nurses are in high demand. Over the next eight years, new job openings for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses are expected to total 155,400. Did you know, to be registered with your respective provincial college, criminal record checks are required?

It’s probably no surprise. Nursing regulatory bodies require criminal record checks because of the nature of the work nurses do. Every single day, as a nurse, you’re working with vulnerable adults and children. This is the ultimate position of trust, and hospitals and other healthcare facilities need to ensure the highest level of safety for their patients.

So, what type of checks are required, who needs them, and what do they report on?

Criminal Record Checks

All nurses in Canada require a criminal record check. This searches the RCMP National Repository of Criminal Records based on your name and date of birth, and pulls information about your criminal history, if any exists, including arrests and convictions. These can conveniently be obtained online, through providers like Triton, quickly and easily, 24/7, in as little as 15 minutes.

Vulnerable Sector Checks

Whether you’re a registered nurse, a registered practical nurse/licensed practical nurse, a nurse practitioner, or a registered psychiatric nurse, you’re likely going to also need a vulnerable sector check. This is a more in-depth background check that reports on the same information from the RCMP as the criminal record check, as well as local police records and national databases, and a check to see if you have been pardoned for a sexual offence. Unlike criminal records checks, these can only be obtained from the police.

Vulnerable sector checks (VSC) are also required in a variety of other scenarios, both in and outside the healthcare sector, such as:

  • doctors
  • personal support workers
  • childcare workers
  • teachers
  • coaches
  • social workers

Really, anyone who is in a position that requires working with a vulnerable individual will need this type of in-depth check.

Whether you’ve finishing up your education and looking to get started in the healthcare industry as a nurse, or just considering nursing as a career path, it helps to know what will be required of you when you start applying for jobs. Two of the things all nurses need for sure are criminal record checks and vulnerable sector checks. While only the police can provide a VSC, a regular criminal record check can easily be obtained online through Triton Canada, a trusted provider of background checks for the healthcare industry for over 15 years. Visit www.tritoncanada.ca for more information.