College of Nurses Review Report | “Flaws” explain the failure rate, not the pandemic

The pandemic alone does not explain the abnormally high failure rate for the September 2022 admission exam to the nursing profession, rules the Commissioner for Admission to Professions.

In his most recent report, M^e André Gariépy thus refutes the main argument of the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ), which calls the pandemic context into question. He is of the opinion that this argument arises above all from “impressions” and that it is not “a generalizable, sufficient and conclusive explanation”.

Instead, the commissioner concluded in his report that the low pass rates on the exam were “primarily attributable to flaws in the exam.” M^e In short, Gariépy urges the OIIQ to “get to work” to “correct” these flaws, including “its validity, its reliability and the establishment of its passing grade”.

The commissioner also criticizes the Order for having itself created “a statistical aberration” by modifying the passing score after observing the results of the September 2022 exam. This manipulation would have pushed it into a situation of failed some 500 candidates.

In his report, the commissioner also attacks the solution put forward by the OIIQ of scuttling its exam to adopt the American national NCLEX-RN exam, as other Canadian provinces have done. In the opinion of M^e Gariépy, this is not a valid solution in the short term and he describes the mentioned timetable of deployment in 2024 as “unrealistic”.

Among the major obstacles targeted by the commissioner, he cites the minimum level of training which, in Quebec, remains the college diploma. Elsewhere in North America, a baccalaureate is required: the NCLEX-RN therefore assesses more advanced knowledge and skills than what is expected in La Belle Province.

If, however, the OIIQ persists in its desire to adopt the NCLEX-RN, it must demonstrate greater transparency and must not skimp on revising the current exam, asserts M.^e Gariépy.

The Professions Office gets involved

The Office des professions du Québec announced in the wake of the report that it was imposing a form of supervision on the OIIQ.

“We are taking the necessary actions so that the OIIQ responds as quickly as possible to the commissioner’s five recommendations,” said Dominique Derome, president of the Office.

The Office has therefore chosen to appoint an independent specialist to supervise the process of establishing the passing score for the September 2023 exam. The specialist’s mandates also include:

• the application of the recommendations regarding the recalculation of the passing score for the September 2022 exam session;
• the application of the recommendations relating to the process for establishing the passing score for the March 2023 exam session;
• supporting the Order in its work in order to improve its current examination with a view to future sessions;
• supporting the Order in its work in order to complete its request for adoption of the NCLEX-RN exam, for analysis by the authorities.

In light of the commissioner’s conclusions on the impact of the pandemic, the Office also wishes to “reassure the population” regarding the quality of care provided by nurses.

“Open position”

The OIIQ affirmed in a press release that it “takes note of the recommendations put forward” by the commissioner. The Order also claims to believe in the “need to review its admission exam” and ensures that it is working in this direction.

Accompanied since the beginning of September by an expert in measurement and evaluation from the Office, the OIIQ is actively working on establishing the passing score for the September 2023 exam. “Sensitive” to the issues raised by this file , the OIIQ “intends to maintain an open position”.

The OIIQ maintains, however, that this issue is very complex: “The project is immense and there is no quick way out of the issues raised. »

The OIIQ exam includes around a hundred questions with choice of answers and lasts an entire day. It takes place twice a year, in September and March. Candidates can take the exam a maximum of three times.

With Alice Girard-Bossé, The Press, and The Canadian Press