NCLEX nursing exam fail rate has Alberta graduates, universities concerned

A new American-based testis causing an uproar in Alberta'snursing community after there was a 20per cent drop in the number ofgraduates who passed the examneeded to work.

• New Brunswick nurses 47% fail rate on NCLEX-RN
• Nova Scotia nursing students have slightly higher failure rate on new test
• Thunder Bay hospital sees more nursing grads fail final exam

Last year89 per cent of nursinggraduates passed, but that hasdropped to 69 per cent this year.

One graduate from the University of Lethbridge, who CBC agreed not to name, says she is upset she failed the exam.She is currently working withatemporary licence that will be revoked if she does not retake and pass the exam in the near future.

"I had studied for two to threemonths before I wrote the exam, and then you got in there and it just seemed like you didn't know anything," she said.

Universities shareconcerns

The woman says aprep course would have been nice.

"I loved my educational experience but I want to be a nurse and the problem was within my education," she says about her $30,000 university investment.

The University of Lethbridgesays the exam wasendorsed without the support of nursing schools, and itwill bereaching out to all graduates who failed to offer them support as they prepare to rewrite the test.

Thenew exam iscalled the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), and it replaces a Canadian-based one. It focuses on areas like pharmacology, and is computer-based not pen-to-paper.

Exam introduced byCARNA

"So we're concerned about whether the exam is a good fit for Canadian nursing," saidDianne Tapp,the dean of the Universityof Calgary's nursing school.

The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA), which isthe body that regulates nursing and introduced this new exam, says universities have had three-and-a-half years to prepare for the change.

CEO Mary-Anne Robinsonsays the purpose of the exam is to ensure that nurses are qualified and safe to treat Alberta patients.

She is confident the pass rates will increase as students and universities adapt.