Quebec nursing order says it is going to change its examination subsequent 12 months

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The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) reacted Thursday to extreme criticism of its examination giving entry to the career. It rejected claims that it unfairly failed 500 candidates, however seems to be vindicating critics by adopting a brand new examination beginning within the spring of 2024.

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OIIQ president Luc Mathieu introduced that the order’s examination will probably be primarily based on the “NCLEX-RN” (Nationwide Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses) as of subsequent 12 months. That is the examination utilized in the USA and elsewhere in Canada to acquire a licence to follow.

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The present components will stay for the following session scheduled for fall 2023. One other cohort additionally needed to face the controversial examination this spring. The outcomes must be revealed within the coming weeks, however the order already claims that 70 per cent of the candidates who had failed in September 2022 succeeded of their restoration in March.

With regard to the criticisms contained in the second progress report of the investigation of the commissioner for admission to professions, André Gariépy, unveiled on Tuesday, the OIIQ believes that the latter is on the incorrect monitor by claiming that 500 candidates would have had a move mark if the “measurement error” issue had not been utilized.

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In line with the order, the bottom move mark for the examination was 49 per cent, which was raised to 53 per cent by including measurement error. Nonetheless, after finishing up a assessment train with a committee of specialists in latest months, as stipulated in one of many commissioner’s suggestions, the instructed rating ought to have been even larger.

In line with Mathieu, if the OIIQ went forward with this recalculation suggestion, tons of of practising nurses would as an alternative lose their proper to practise.

Among the many different main shortcomings of the examination, the commissioner had additionally identified that greater than 12 per cent of the questions contained issues of building or readability. The OIIQ as soon as once more rejected this conclusion and mentioned that different specialists reviewed the questions earlier than concluding that they could possibly be troublesome, however that this “displays the complexity” of the career.

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In line with the OIIQ, the NCLEX-RN will supply a number of benefits to candidates for the career. They may be capable of attempt it as many instances as essential to succeed inside a four-year interval.

On the identical time, candidates for the career who’ve exhausted their three possibilities of passing the present examination subsequent September may benefit from transitional measures to rub shoulders with the NCLEX-RN.

As well as, classes must be provided all through Quebec to keep away from journey. Then, for the reason that examination is computer-based, the outcomes must be simpler to calculate.

Mathieu additionally identified that it has been a confirmed device since since its creation in 1994, it has been utilized by greater than six million aspiring nurses in North America.

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So as to proceed with this alteration of examination, the OIIQ will submit a request to the Workplace des professions du Québec.

This choice appears to provide cause to the criticisms of the commissioner who questioned the validity and reliability of the check utilized by the order. However Mathieu mentioned the work on that change started a number of years in the past.

Furthermore, Gariépy’s report revealed that the OIIQ had recognized since at the least 2018 that the reliability of its examination was moderately low.

It was the catastrophic outcomes of the autumn 2022 entry to the career examination that prompted Gariépy to launch an investigation. Solely 45.4 per cent of the candidates obtained the passing mark.

Because the announcement of those outcomes, the OIIQ has blamed the COVID-19 pandemic by claiming that the scholars didn’t obtain sufficient coaching.

Well being content material produced by Presse Canadienne is financed by the Canadian Medical Affiliation. Presse Canadienne is solely accountable for its editorial decisions.