Nursing exam pass rates soar in Quebec
Posted November 8, 2024 10:15 am.
The revised nursing entrance exam process appears to be a step in the right direction. After the number of failures skyrocketed in 2022 and 2023, the success rates have now increased from 63 per cent in September 2023 to 94.6 per cent for the exam held on Sept. 23.
This means that clinical settings will be able to count on 2,760 more nurses. This is the largest number of new candidates to enter the profession since at least the two previous cohorts. In March 2023, 1,702 new nurses graduated and in September 2023, there were 1,940 new nursing professionals.
“These emerging nurses are in a position to play a pivotal role in healthcare in all regions of Quebec,” said Luc Mathieu, president of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ), in a press release.
The results for the entrance exam had dropped significantly in 2022. The success rate was 51.4 per cent in September and in March, it had risen slightly to 53.3 per cent.
The admission commissioner made several recommendations and the Office des professions du Québec appointed Marie Rinfret as an OIIQ facilitator. Her role was to support the OIIQ in the process of reviewing its exams and improving its governance.
The exam held on Sept. 23 was the first to stop the relaxed measures that had been in place since January 2023, like an unlimited number of attempts. The most recent exam marked a return to normal with the usual three attempts.
According to the OIIQ, the work to revise the entrance exam process that resulted from the recommendations of the report by the Commissaire à l’admission aux professions, “satisfies the Office des professions du Québec.”
In September 2024, the OIIQ had 83,165 active members registered with a regular practice permit. This represents an increase of 2.93 per cent compared to the same period last year. Currently, more than 20,734 students are completing an admission to the profession.
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–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
