"70%?" of Canadian's failing NCLEX

FutureCanadianRN · Jul 10, 2015

It's very discouraging because we were not prepared for this exam. The passing rate in Canada right now is around 65% my province fortunately has extended the temporary license because of this issue. I don't write mine for another 2 weeks but I've been studying very hard so by Gods grace it pays off. My school is actually having a review session at the end of this month because there are too many of us failing. It's scary.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 10, 2015

I'm an American student living not far from the Canadian border.

I just took NCLEX and it seemed as though they made it for both American & Canadian because all weights were given in both pounds and kilograms (which made the med math easier) and the temps were given in Celsius. Drug names have changed to only using the generic (no more trade names). American students are finding this change the most difficult because hospitals use trade names more often than generic names. I still have a hard time remembering that Zofran is actually ondansetron!

Best of luck on passing the NCLEX :)

caliotter3 · Jul 10, 2015

I could see a budding industry for persons providing NCLEX reviews tailored to help Canadian students succeed. Where there is money to be made, the entrepreneurs will proliferate.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2015

Yeah, Hurst Review is already on that. I see the little Canadian leaf at the bottom right of the screen on their user website. SMH.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 11, 2015

I read (and responded) to a query about a week or so ago, I guess, in which someone wondered why the Canadian NCLEX failure rate was about 50%. I asked in response if it was really just the poster's school, or was it truly a national failure crisis....and her response was that it was, indeed, an issue across the country.

I really don't understand what the problem is. It's not as if Canadian nursing is such a p*$$poor circumstance that a high failure rate should be expected; the exam tests basic nursing knowledge to the standard of minimum competency. Clearly patients in the care of Canadian nurses aren't risking their lives in such care....it is EXPECTED to be competent care, just as it is here in the US.

The language is English, the system of measurement familiar (not foreign). The standard of care and familiarity with medications and basic procedures and disease processes should be the same. WHY is the failure rate for this exam so high??

xokw, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2015

I read (and responded) to a query about a week or so ago, I guess, in which someone wondered why the Canadian NCLEX failure rate was about 50%. I asked in response if it was really just the poster's school, or was it truly a national failure crisis....and her response was that it was, indeed, an issue across the country.
I really don't understand what the problem is. It's not as if Canadian nursing is such a p*$$poor circumstance that a high failure rate should be expected; the exam tests basic nursing knowledge to the standard of minimum competency. Clearly patients in the care of Canadian nurses aren't risking their lives in such care....it is EXPECTED to be competent care, just as it is here in the US.
The language is English, the system of measurement familiar (not foreign). The standard of care and familiarity with medications and basic procedures and disease processes should be the same. WHY is the failure rate for this exam so high??

Because universities in Canada have, unfortunately, geared their entire curriculums to a completely different test, the CNRE. The CNRE was much more application based, with the ability to work through scenarios and apply knowledge. It was a different way of asking questions, different wording, etc. From what I have heard, the NCLEX is much more patho based, and focuses a lot more on actual facts. This is just based on what I have heard and read, so I don't know how accurate it is.

It is unfortunate for those students who have spent four+ years in university being prepared for a certain kind of test, then they are suddenly writing something completely different. This years students are guinea pigs, unfortunately, and as the schools now begin adjusting their curriculums to match the style of testing as seen on the NCLEX, we will surely see the numbers rising.

I'm fairly confident in saying it has nothing to do with Canadian nurses lacking competency. According to the World Health Organization, Canada and the U.S. rank very similarly in regards to health systems, with Canada at #30 and the U.S. at #37. If our nurses, a major part of health care, were incompetent I doubt the numbers would be as they are :)

The pass rate is only about 11% below the U.S. at this point (it is listed online), which I don't think is too bad considering the circumstances :)

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 12, 2015

I'm fairly confident in saying it has nothing to do with Canadian nurses lacking competency. According to the World Health Organization, Canada and the U.S. rank very similarly in regards to health systems, with Canada at #30 and the U.S. at #37. If our nurses, a major part of health care, were incompetent I doubt the numbers would be as they are :)
The pass rate is only about 11% below the U.S. at this point (it is listed online), which I don't think is too bad considering the circumstances :)

Of course, which is what I was going on when I posted....the numbers on the surface might indicate less competency, when we know that doesn't make sense. Must be the way the schools are viewing the licensing exams in the first place. Still seems weird to me to have such a disparity, but with any luck it will get ironed out soon!

On another note, last I knew (looked a year ago)the pass rate for US educated testers was about 90%....has it dropped that much in this short a time?

xokw, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2015

Of course, which is what I was going on when I posted....the numbers on the surface might indicate less competency, when we know that doesn't make sense. Must be the way the schools are viewing the licensing exams in the first place. Still seems weird to me to have such a disparity, but with any luck it will get ironed out soon!
On another note, last I knew (looked a year ago)the pass rate for US educated testers was about 90%....has it dropped that much in this short a time?

According to the NCSBN the U.S. sits around 86% and Canada around 75%, I'd have to double check, but I'm fairly certain that is what I read :)