Alberta nursing graduates improve pass rates on entry exam
EDMONTON, May 11, 2017 /CNW/ - In 2016, 1,573 Alberta nursing graduates wrote the NCLEX-RN regulatory exam that is one of the requirements to work as a registered nurse. The year-end pass rate for Alberta graduates was 88.4% which is an improvement over the 2015 pass rate.
"The NCLEX-RN exam is a valuable regulatory tool that helps us ensure that registered nurses entering the profession have the knowledge, skill and judgment to provide safe care to the public," says Jerry Macdonald, president of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA).
The 2016 NCLEX-RN reports separate graduates into two cohorts: those who wrote the exam for the first time in 2015 (2015 cohort) and those who wrote the exam for the first time in 2016 (2016 cohort). The year-end pass rate for the Alberta 2015 cohort was 83.9% but, by the end of 2016, 93.7% of these writers had successfully passed the exam.
The NCLEX-RN is a computer-adaptive test administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). Introduced by Canadian nurse regulators in 2015, it covers competencies taught in Canadian nursing education programs. A national analysis of nursing practice identified the knowledge, skills and abilities required of Canadian registered nurses in their first year of practice, and confirmed that the NCLEX-RN is a valid test of these competencies. Canadian registered nurses participate in review and development of exam questions and CARNA staff have opportunities to review exam content every six months.
The NCLEX-RN 2016: Canadian Results report is available at NCLEX 2016 National Results and the NCLEX-RN 2016: Performance of Alberta Graduates report is available at NCLEX 2016 Alberta Results.
CARNA is the regulatory college and professional association for Alberta's more than 37,000 registered nurses including nurses in direct care, education, research and administration as well as nurse practitioners. CARNA's mandate is to serve the public through regulating registered nurses in order to promote and support safe, competent, ethical nursing care.
Website: www.nurses.ab.ca
Twitter: @AlbertaRNs
SOURCE College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta
Media inquiries: Margaret Ward-Jack/Tel . 780-453-0515/cell. 780-932-1376, Email: [email protected]
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