Nursing candidates will be allowed to retake nursing exam, receive extra support: professional order

Quebec nurses order to change exam in 2024 The Quebec Nurses Order will be changing its exam in 2024 after a high failure rate raised a lot of questions.

The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) has announced new flexibility measures, as it continues to work on resolving the profound problems surrounding its entry-to-the-profession exam.

Among the changes unveiled in a press release on Wednesday, the OIIQ will once again allow candidates to the nursing profession (CEPI) to take the exam at the next session, scheduled for September.

Those who choose not to register for the exam will not be penalized by having a failing grade added to their record.

This same choice was offered to CEPIs at the most recent evaluation session last March. According to data obtained from the OIIQ, 630 of the 2,803 candidates invited to the session failed the exam.

Three other measures are being offered to candidates, including the "possibility of another attempt at the exam" for those who have already accumulated the maximum number of three failures or who have exceeded the time limit.

For those who decide to try their luck at the exam this autumn, they will have more time to answer all the questions.

Finally, in a move that seems justified above all by the severe labour shortage affecting the healthcare network, the OIIQ will maintain "the right to practice as a CEPI for those who have definitively failed."

In its press release, the order presents these relaxations as its "action plan" to promote the success of candidates.

According to a quote attributed to President Luc Mathieu, these gestures are intended to demonstrate that the institution "is committed to remedying, as quickly and effectively as possible, the issues raised in connection with the exam success rate."

In addition, tools will be made available to those taking the exam. The aim is to help them "familiarize themselves with the form, content and procedure of the exam," as well as to "consolidate their knowledge."

They will also have access to the topics covered and the table of specifications used for question selection.

The OIIQ has enlisted the help of the Direction nationale des soins et services infirmiers and the Directions de soins infirmiers (DSI) to provide candidates with the best possible support.

The storm surrounding the OIIQ entrance exam began in the fall of 2022, when an abnormally low pass rate of 51.4 per cent on the first attempt was announced. At the next test, in March 2023, the first-attempt pass rate was slightly higher at 53.8 per cent.

An investigation by the Commissioner for Admission to the Professions revealed serious flaws in the exam's methodology. The Commissioner openly questioned the validity and reliability of the tool.

In response, the OIIQ took steps to adopt the American national exam known as NCLEX-RN. This exam is already in use in most other Canadian provinces, but its French translation has suffered some setbacks.

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This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on June 21, 2023.