Angry nurses: A major failure in the professional exam

Amid a shortage of nurses, nursing students are angry with their professional order after a high number of people fail the exam to be granted the right to practise.

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“It’s unfair and it’s not normal that one out of two people is drowning,” scolds Lorien Col-Dorian, 23, a class president who averaged 85. % in three years of college.

She is part of a group of nurses who passed the Professional Examination of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ) at the end of September 2022. The success rate was more than 51%.

You cannot practice as a nurse without passing this exam, which costs more than $600. These multiple failures come as Quebec faces a staffing shortage, forcing many hospitals to cut services.

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96% to 51%

For the past three years, the pass rate for this exam has been declining. After peaking at 96% in September 2020, results have worsened every six months.

“It doesn’t reflect the reality on the ground, not what we learn in school […] It pisses me off, I’ve never failed a single lesson,” says Josian Georges, who cracks up as he talks about his failure.

The 40-year-old mother spent dozens of hours a day studying for the exam, even paying for extra tutoring and taking time off from her job at a hospital to maximize her chances of passing.

But she got only 52%… 55% to pass.

Joëlle Girard, 22, started an online petition after failing to denounce the situation. 3400 people have already signed.

“We are not dangerous, we know what we are doing,” continues the student from Sorrel-Tracy, adding that all candidates for the exam have already passed their studies and are already working under supervision in hospitals.

Nalie Rouillard points out that examining situational scenarios by choosing answers is “super abstract.” “All the answers are right, but you have to choose the best of the right answers,” he explains.

“We have a diploma and we work almost full-time in the hospital, but the exam puts a spoke in our wheels. It’s disappointing,” she continues.

Admissions and Registrar at OIIQ, Chantal Lemay, assures that the September exam followed the same formula as previous years. Its content is checked by teachers and nurses, she says.

It did not offend the order that one out of two of the prospective nurses had failed. However, Ms. Lemay explains that the cohort, which started in 2019, has been hit hard by the pandemic and online courses.

“Our goal is not to license someone who is not ready to work independently,” she says, encouraging future nurses to continue to gain experience in the field and ask questions.

But he admits that the current acute labor shortage “doesn’t necessarily support” the hospitals they can work under supervision.

According to the OIIQ, female undergraduates perform better than male college students.

“Based on the decree’s discretion to make baccalaureate studies compulsory [pour les futures infirmières]We observe with skepticism,” commented Yves de Rebenzini of the National Confederation of Teachers of Quebec.

Success rate in recent years in OIIQ professional exam after first attempt

• September 2018: 77%
• March 2019: 73%
• September 2019: 91%
• September 12, 2020: 89%
• September 19, 2020: 96%
• March 27, 2021: 80%
• September 18, 2021: 81%
• March 28, 2022: 71%
• September 26, 2022: 51.4%