I obtained my college diploma (DEC) in nursing in May 2022 after years of hard work. I passed all my internships, my exams and my program summary exam, at the end of my DEC, which included all the learning outcomes expected of a nursing student.
In September 2022, I took the exam for the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) for the first time, to learn, after weeks of endless waiting, that I had not passed it, and this, at 1% of the pass mark set at 55%. My world came crashing down and I knew I deserved to take this exam.
It is important to know that as a candidate for the practice of the nursing profession (CEPI) and that with the lack of nurses and the reality on the ground, we have the same tasks as nurses, with a few exceptions. . We always have nurses, our colleagues, to whom we can turn for questions, because it is a profession where learning is made on a daily basis.
Several times a day, I have very good comments from patients thanking me for being their “nurse”. I have never compromised a patient’s safety, because safety is my priority. My colleagues are of the same opinion. And the comments of the president of the OIIQ, Luc Mathieu, who says that the CEPIs are not ready enough for the examination and that there is therefore a risk of harm to the protection of the public reach me to the highest point. , because I would never compromise the safety of a patient.
I am passionate about the nursing profession and I am currently doing my bachelor’s degree in nursing to seek additional knowledge. My grades are excellent.
Thus, I attempted the OIIQ exam for the second time. This time, I had high hopes of passing the exam. I was better prepared, among other things thanks to my one-year experience as a CEPI. Today, however, I receive an email telling me that my result for my second attempt is available. I wait in line, the ball in the stomach, to be disappointed once again. Today, I am again 1% away from passing the most important exam of my life. I got 54%, still 1% below the passing mark. I am devastated, disappointed.
My colleagues and my superiors were convinced that I was going to succeed because of the skills I demonstrate on the floor.
I cannot understand how, and above all to what extent, nursing succession can be slowed down in this way. We know the working conditions of the health network and the reality of the nursing profession and the environment, but that does not prevent us from wanting to pursue our careers and give our all, to smile at the patients and to take care of them, because we we are passionate about this job.
What strikes me as even more shocking is that in the report of the Commissioner for Admission to Professions, which was recently unveiled, it was proven that the OIIQ exam has flaws and that CEPIs have been unnecessarily readjusted. In addition, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, insisted on recalling that with the current context, we cannot afford to lose 500 nurses. Among the CEPIs, several will no doubt think of changing professions, in addition to those who are on their third, and last, failure.
I am, once again, ashamed of my professional order today. This shame has, moreover, a very bitter taste.