The Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) is shelving its idea of ​​using a new exam, an adaptation of the American licensing test with the acronym NCLEX−RN. This should be granted to applicants for the job starting next spring.

At the very end of a press release issued on Wednesday, the regulation stated that it wanted to wait for the announced modernization of the university nursing program led by the Ministry of Higher Education and in which it participates to address the matter.

“The OIIQ intends to complete this work before moving forward with consideration of the NCLEX-RN exam. It therefore suspends its actions in this matter,” it said.

The formula of the current entrance examination has been controversial in recent months.

At the end of his investigation, the Commissioner for Admission to Professions, Me André Gariépy, concluded that 500 candidates should have achieved a passing grade if the “measurement error” factor had not been applied. A decision that postponed her entry into Quebec’s health system and forced her to take the exam again.

Among other significant deficiencies in the exam, the Commissioner also found that more than 12% of the questions had construction or clarity issues. The order responded by saying that experts had examined the questions and that their level of difficulty “reflects the complexity” of the profession.

According to the three investigation reports from the professional licensing officer, the OIIQ still maintains that its examination is not the only thing responsible for the unusually high failure rates at the meetings in September 2022 and March 2023.

A class action lawsuit against the OIIQ was also filed in court last month on behalf of candidates who failed the exam.

The OIIQ’s media department declined La Presse Canadienne’s request for an interview with the order’s president, Luc Mathieu. “As stated in our press release, we will abide by the lines of the press release,” we clarified in an email.

Accompaniment

In its press release on Wednesday, the OIIQ recalled that the candidates “benefited from support measures, including free access to exam preparation tools, the distribution of the list of topics and the specification table used for the selection of the planned questions, as well as the dissemination of additional ones Information to help you prepare.

“The OIIQ places great value on the future of the profession and the next generation of nurses. He is committed to improving the process of licensing the profession as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the population of Quebec can benefit from the greatest possible number of practicing nurses capable of providing safe, high-quality and humane care to offer the field,” said the order’s president, Luc Mathieu.

On October 17, Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel announced on The minister then left the specter of oversight of the order hanging in the air.

Former Ombudsman Marie Rinfret has since been appointed to help the OIIQ board improve its governance. A corresponding report should be submitted at the end of November, said Ms. Lebel’s office, which will rely on this document to determine how to proceed.

In its press release issued on Wednesday, the OIIQ said that 63% of the 3,081 candidates passed the admission test held last September. Those who submitted for the first time accounted for 69%.

The order will thus welcome 1,940 new members to its ranks.

− With information from Ugo Giguère, The Canadian Press

Marie-Ève ​​Martel, The Canadian Press