Nursing students need to be patient: the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) takes 12 weeks rather than 6 to correct the professional exam held at the end of March. The test, which has only multiple-choice questions, had the highest failure rate last September.
“We are waiting and not understanding because the order does not want to tell us why the correction time is up to three months. The commissioner says it is because of the investigation, but how can the time for correction be increased by three months because of the investigation? asks Université de Sherbrooke nursing bachelor student Amelie Joll.
Almost half (48.6%) of nursing students who took the exam for the first time last September failed.
Commissioner for Admission to Professions, Mr.e Andre Garipe was tasked with investigating the reasons that led to this disproportionate failure rate. The case is still ongoing.
“Given the Commissioner’s investigative approach to the examination, the order wishes to proceed with caution and make additional verifications regarding the results of the March 2023 examination”, the OIIQ pointed out. Press. The correction period for the March exam has been reduced from 6 to 12 weeks.
The Quebec Nursing Student Association said it “appreciates the OIIQ’s efforts to ensure that the entrance exam to the profession is fair and equitable,” but said it is “unfortunate that this caution has consequences for the next generation of nurses.” Press Representative Coralie Yergeau.
Additional stress on the network
Some students lament that this long time for correction is delaying the arrival of new nurses in the health network. “It puts stress on an already stressed system,” explains Mme Yergeu.
The OIIQ noted that “the labor shortage situation is particularly difficult for members of the nursing profession and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of new graduates”.
However, the order stipulates that graduates who have not yet passed the professional exam can practice in the health sector as candidates for nursing profession practice (CEPI), provided they are under the supervision of a nurse.
However, student body representative Coralie Yergo pointed out that CEPIs are paid less than nurses. “When you’re a CEPI, you’re talking about a salary of $23.49 an hour, but once you’re a nurse with a technique, it’s $25.81 and with a baccalaureate, it’s $27.08 an hour. Having to wait three months still makes a big difference,” she noted.
Machine correction
The professional exam consists of only multiple-choice questions and is machine-corrected, which reduces correction time, OIIQ said in an article published on its website in March 2018.
The correction required “a single human intervention,” one read there. The machine was “a bit capricious” and “shades of gray too light to read, poorly erased answers, two answers checked, etc. »
Each answer sheet is scanned twice and the data is compared to ensure scan quality. Examinations of candidates near the pass mark are subject to additional verification.
Student Amelie Zoll hopes these six extra weeks of correction will benefit candidates. “If it’s for our own good, I don’t mind the delay, it’s the unexplained fact that bothers me,” she said.
Students should receive the results by the end of June instead of mid-May as in previous years. Those who fail can take it again in September. Candidates can take the exam maximum three times.
Learn more
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- 51.4%
- Pass rate among people taking entry-to-practice examination for the first time in September 2022
- 82.3%
- Average pass rate of practice test takers from first time entry in previous eight tests
Source: Order of Nurses of Quebec
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