Quebec nursing exams pass rate goes back to normal

The offices of the Quebec Order of Nurses are seen Thursday, May 11, 2023 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The revised nursing entrance exam process seems to have paid off. After the number of failures soared in 2022 and 2023, pass rates rose 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 an additional 2,760 nurses. This is the highest number of new candidates to enter the profession since at least the previous two cohorts. In March 2023, 1702 graduated, and in September 2023, there were 1940 new nursing professionals.

“These new 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 news release.

Results for the entrance exam had dropped significantly in 2022. In September, the pass rate was 51.4 per cent, and by March it had risen slightly to 53.3 per cent.

Because of this, the admission commissioner made several recommendations, and the Office des professions du Québec appointed Marie Rinfret to accompany the OIIQ. 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 softened measures that had been in place since January 2023, like an unlimited number of attempts. The latest exam marked a return to normal with the usual three attempts.

According to the OIIQ, the work to revise the entrance exam process, which stemmed 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 licence to practice. This represents an increase of 2.93 per cent over the same period last year. Currently, over 20,734 students are in the process of completing their admission to the profession.

This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press Nov. 7, 2024.