Nurses want Canadian-owned entry exam

The Canadian Nurses Association wants the entry exam for nurses to be Canadian-made and Canadian-owned, not American.

The Canadian association and its subsidiary developed and maintain the current pencil-and-paper exam, andsubmitted a bid to deliver an online version starting in 2015.

But regulatory bodies in the provinces and territories selected the American-based National Council of State Boards of Nursing to develop a new computer-based test that would be taken by both Canadian and U.S. nurses.

Canadian Nurses Association president Judith Shamian says the American market and health-care system are very different from Canada's, and this should be recognized in the exam.

The association wants the new exam to align with the curriculum of Canadian nursing schools and reflect the unique qualities and values of the Canadian publicly funded, not-for-profit health system.

The College of Nurses of Ontario, one of the provincial regulators that has chosen to go with the U.S.-based exam, says the new exam will include active participation by Canadian RNs in writing and reviewing items, and translating the content into French.