The nursing order in Quebec has reversed course and announced that it will pause its intention to mandate a university degree for nurses in order to practice.
The province’s nursing regulatory body, the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ), has announced that it will focus its efforts on enhancing the licensure examination that graduates of nursing programs must pass.
The directive declared in May 2022 that new nurses must hold a university degree. Since then, though, criticism has been leveled at the exam required of nursing students in order to enter the industry due to its high failure rate, with some nurses demanding a revision in the way future nurses are evaluated.
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), the largest nursing union in Quebec, applauds this ruling.
According to FIQ president Julie Bouchard, “the FIQ invites the OIIQ to now focus its energies on the fundamental problems of the nursing profession.” “The OIIQ previously raised concerns about these issues. For instance, the employer shifting nurses across care units without giving them enough notice.”
The head of the Quebec federation of CEGEPs, Bernard Tremblay, also welcomes the order dropping the university requirement, citing a labor shortage and a 7% drop in registrations for nursing programs in 2023. Nearly half of nursing students in Quebec fail the contentious licensing exam — again.
Tremblay claims that getting young people interested in the field is difficult. He states that in order for the next generation of nurses in the province to apply with “full confidence” that they would be permitted to practice, he wants Quebec’s Health Ministry Ministry of Health to better promote CEGEP level nursing credentials.
Nursing aspirant files class action lawsuit after failing the Quebec licensure exam three times.
To avoid the contentious exam, some nursing students in Quebec are obtaining licenses outside of their home province.
Approximately 81,000 nurses work in Quebec at the moment, and 53% of them hold a bachelor’s degree.
