The health network awaits each squadron of newly qualified nurses with haste tinged with a strong sense of urgency. That nearly a quarter of the approximately 3,000 candidates for the practice of the nursing profession (CEPI) have chosen to ignore the controversial exam of the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) these days will have a demobilizing effect on the troops . The fact remains that it is in high places that these serial postponements should hurt.
Unfortunately, both Quebec and the Order do not seem to understand the crisis facing the nursing profession. It’s been almost a year since we’ve known that something is wrong with this revised exam, which has seen the CEPI pass rates drop to 51% and 53%. Full of “flaws” and “fragilities”, this exam was demolished in a substantiated analysis by the Commissioner for Admission to Professions last spring.
Rather than carefully following the recommendations put forward by Me André Gariépy, the OIIQ, quibbled with the figures. He ended up giving in on points of detail while remaining inflexible on the essentials. The test on September 18 will thus consist of “the same exam corrected according to the same standards”. No one blames the CEPIs who chose to wait until next March to stake their future.
Their bet is risky. We wonder what kind of shock it will take for the Order to stop moving forward as if it were alone in this matter. Even natural accomplices, such as educational establishments and hospitals, are kept at arm’s length. The OIIQ’s refusal to review its examination in depth betrays a stubborn attitude that is not up to its role.
Its unilateral choice to adopt the American test (known by the abbreviation NCLEX-RN) next March in place of the hated exam continues to cause a stir. Rightly so: such an exam is not just an evaluation tool, it is a crucial element in defining the professional standard.
To resort to the American exam would therefore be to put an end to everything that distinguishes the Quebec system. Worse, it would be embarking on a minefield that risks taking months to — poorly — mold itself to our identity. You only have to look at New Brunswick to be convinced; there, the French translation was so laborious that it led to prosecutions.
Monday, The duty reported that discouraged CEPIs are turning to the American test used in New Brunswick and British Columbia to get out of this quagmire. Nursing workforce management is a major element in the overhaul of our health system. It would be irresponsible to let this sad chapter drag on any further.
The Legault government also does not like the idea of relying on a test designed abroad for a private network that has few similarities with our public system. A standoff between the OIIQ and ministers Christian Dubé and Sonia LeBel seems inevitable. We are delighted with such a prospect. I can’t wait for them to roll the mechanics!