Minister Sonia Lebel is keeping an eye on the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ). She points out that a “very tight and very rigorous” protocol has been put in place to ensure that the OIIQ “complies with the recommendations” of the commissioner for the admission of professions and modifies its “failing” examination.
In his third and final report published Tuesday, the commissioner for the admission of professions admonishes the OIIQ and orders it to “correct the flaws” of its test, the success rate of which had reached 51.4% in September 2022 among candidates who were taking the test for the first time.
“My message to the Office des professions du Québec and the OIIQ is very clear: we expect results and I will observe the situation very closely,” said Minister Sonia Lebel during an interview with The duty. “We are giving the OIIQ a chance to comply adequately and we have put in place a very tight framework for it to do so. »
She indicates that measures were implemented even before the publication of the commissioner’s third report. The Office des professions du Québec notably appointed an “independent specialist in measurement and evaluation” in order to supervise the OIIQ in its management of its examination.
“There is monitoring, an observer and rigorous supervision to ensure that the OIIQ will respect the recommendations of the commissioner, therefore will proceed to recalculate the examinations concerned,” specifies Sonia Lebel. We carefully follow the calculation of the score and we effectively supervise the establishment of the committee to calculate the passing score for the exam which has just been taken. [18 septembre 2023]. »
The minister recalls that the commissioner, in his third report, “unequivocally” rejected the hypothesis according to which the training offered during the pandemic was “deficient”. “We see it in report 3, the commissioner indicates that what the OIIQ has done so far is quite weak,” she adds.
As for the American exam (NCLEX-RN) that the OIIQ planned to implement in 2024, Sonia Lebel affirms “that we have always claimed that it was not feasible” within these deadlines. “The Commissioner had already said in his previous report than to import as is an examination which comes from a [autre juridiction], it doesn’t happen by snapping your fingers. It’s much more complex. The Office is on the case and we are still waiting for answers from the Order on this. »