SJ CONSORTIUM NATIONAL

Transcription

1 ACUFC ASSOCIATION OES COLLtGES ET UNIVERSIT~S OE LA FRANCOPHONIE CANAOIENNE ~~ SJ CONSORTIUM NATIONAL fl) DE FORMATION EN SANTE Ottawa, January 18, 2016 Ms. Anne L. Coghlan, RN, MscN Executive Director and CEO College ofnurses ofontario President of Canadian Council ofregistered Nurse Regulators 10I Davenport Road Toronto, ON MSR 3Pl Ms. Brenda Kinney, RN MN President, Nurses Association ofnew Brunswick (NANB) 165 Regent Street Fredericton, NB E3B 7B4 Ms. Nancy A. Sears, RN, BScN, MPA, PhD President College ofnurses ofontario 101 Davenport Road Toronto, ON MSR 3P1 Ms. Patricia Benjarninson, RN CON(C) President College ofregistered Nurses ofmanitoba 890 Pembina Hwy Winnipeg, MB R3M 2M8 Ms. Shannon Spenceley, RN, PhD President and Council Chair College and Association ofregistered Nurses ofalberta St. NW Edmonton, AB T5M 4A6 Dear Mses Coghlan, Kinney, Sears, Benjaminson and Spenceley, The Consortium national deformation en sallle (CNF$), ofwhich the undersigned post-secondary institutions are members, wishes to formally register its concerns regarding the introduction ofthe NCLEX-RN by the Canadian Council ofregistered Nurse Regulators (CCRNR) and the regulatory Secr6tarlat national 22~ rue Maii;i Ottawa (Ontario) K1 S 1C4 Sans frais_ Telecopieur ACUFC.CA

2 bodies ofthe provinces in which we operate. We would also like to highlight some ofthe impacts the introduction ofthe NCLEX-RN has had on nursing graduates who studied in French in our five approved nursing schools in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta (in Alberta, the nursing program is offered in a bilingual format). And finally, we would like to propose short-term and long-term solutions. First, we wish to add our voices to the many pointing out that there are significant problems with the French translation ofthe exam. As you know, there have been complaints from multiple Francophone writers about the quality ofthe French, and the evidence goes far beyond the anecdotal. The attached analysis from the Canadian Association ofschools ofnursing (CASN) looks at the issue ofthe inadequacy ofthe translation in great details, and we invite you to review it. We are greatly concerned that the students from the five nursing schools who wrote the exam in French had far higher failure rates than their Anglophone counterparts. Since this was not the case with the previous exam, we conclude that this speaks directly to the translation process and the quality ofthe translated French version ofthe exam. We are also deeply troubled by the very poor translation ofthe NCLEX-RN test plan and the lack of preparatory resources available in French to help students study to write the NCLEX-RN exam. While there is an impressive variety of preparatory material in English from the National Council ofstate Boards ofnursing in the United States (the organization that developed the examination) and from other American companies, there is a dearth ofpreparatory material in French. This situation has had a significant impact, leading to some graduates deciding to write the exam in English despite having studied in French. The following are some ofthe scenarios that have played out, all ofwhich place the Francophone graduates at a disadvantage: Francophone graduates from the five nursing schools studying with English preparatory material and writing the exam in English after having studied in French in their nursing program; only Francophone graduates wrote the NCLEX-RN in a different language from the one in which they studied. Francophone graduates studying with English material but writing the exam in French. Francophone graduates first writing the exam in French, then switching to the English version for the second try because ofthe lack ofpreparatory material in French and concerns about the translated version ofthe exam. The evidence ofproblems related to the translation and the lack ofpreparatory material is overwhelming. One need only be aware ofthe fact that pass rates at the Universitc de Moncton went from 93% to 30% in one year, with the only factor changed being the exam, to understand that there are problems with the translation, with the exam, and with access to preparatory material. The same problems have been reported in Ontario and Manitoba to a lesser degree - due mainly to the simple fact that from east to west, fewer students wrote the exam in French, and more ofthem decided to write the exam in English with the implications described in the scenarios above. Francophone graduates are feeling the strain, both mental and financial, ofthis ill-conceived change: Some have had to withdraw from their jobs because their temporary licenses were terminated. 12 Seer6tarlat national 223, rue Main, Ottawa (Ontario). K1S 1C4 Sans frais : Telecopieur: ACUFC.CA

3 Many have faced the cost ofrepeating the exam ($360) and, for most, the added cost of travel to another city to write the exam. Francophone nursing schools are also bearing additional burdens as they try to make up for the shortcomings in the materials and the deficiencies in the exam. They are using their own resources to develop and host many different types of workshops to help and support students and graduates. The problems with the NCLEX-RN have broad repercussions. Not only has the introduction ofthe exam seriously disadvantaged Francophone graduates, but it is also undermining the capacity of health care agencies to supply the nurses needed to serve Francophone populations. Graduates of our French programs tell us they are considering writing the English exam instead, and new students are questioning whether they should even enroll in French-language programs. This runs directly counter to both Section 41 of the Official languages Act, which seeks to enhance the vitality ofofficial language minority communities, and the work of Health Canada's Official Language Community Development Bureau {OLCDB) with the Co11sorlium 11alional deformatio11 e11 sa11le, which seeks to draw more students to Francophone programs in order to increase the availability ofnursing services offered in French. Meanwhile, our students, our graduates, our schools, and the profession are taking a reputational hit as the higher failure rates brought on by the exam become public knowledge. Some regulators have gone so far as to publicly blame the students for being ill-prepared or stressed, while asserting that there are no problems with the exam itself or its translation ( ons/atlantique/2015/09/08/016-test-examen-finlssa ots-sciem;es-lnfirmieres-taux-reussiteechec.shtml). Recently, the Nurses Association ofnew Brunswick has come around to the extent they now say they are engaged in a review with the provincial government to validate the process used for translation - sec the press release attached to this letter. They have also extended the temporary licenses for new graduates to two years and removed the limit on the number of times that graduates can challenge the exam, while maintaining their temporary licenses. All this is clear acknowledgement of the fact that the problems lie with the exam, not the students or schools. We believe that Canadian nurses deserve an entry-to-practice exam that reflects and reinforces the high quality ofcanadian nursing. Therefore, here are the short-term solutions we believe could minimize the significant impact ofthe NCLEX-RN on the Francophone nursing graduates: 1. we request an immediate stop to the administration of the NCLEX-RN for all Francophones in Canada; 2. following the example ofnew Brunswick, graduates ofapproved nursing programs across the country must be given the same two-year temporary license to practice while a new exam is developed. In the longer term, we want you to work with us and other key stakeholders to develop and put in place an alternative, truly bilingual, entry-to-practice exam that reflects our Canadian context and tests candidates on Canadian competencies. /3 Secretariat national 223. rue Main. Ottawa (Ontario), K1S 1C4 Sans frals : Telecopieur: ACUFC.CA

4 These solutions must include the following concepts: That best practices in translation be used, coupled with a valid process, to create a French version ofan exam. That Francophone nursing professors be involved in preparing the French version of the exam, as was done in the past, to ensure that proper terminology is used. We would appreciate a timely response to this letter outlining the concrete steps you are going to take to address the situation. We are prepared to work with you to ensure better outcomes for the future generations of Canadian nurses, including nurses capable ofoffering quality services to Francophone communities. Yours sincerely, Allister Surette Copresident, Health/CNFS Committee and ACUFC and President and Vice.Chancellor ofuniversite Sainte Anne ~ Lise Bourgeois Coprcsident, Health/CNFS Committee and ACUFC and President of La Cite : le college d'arts appliques ct de technologie Andre Samson Vice President, Academic and Research, Universile de Moncion Amelie Perron Associate Professor and Assislanl Director, Undergraduale Programs School ofnursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University ofottawa c:ij/ Denis Hurtubise Associate Vice President Academic and Francophone Affairs Laurentian University ~~'1-!:: Peter Dorrington Vice.President, Academic and Research Univcrsite de Saint Boniface p~~z:='1 Anita E. Molzahn, PhD, RN, FC S Dean and Executive Officer, Campus Saint.Jean Professor and Dean, Faculty o ursing University ofalberta University ofalberta c6haz_<-{. ul(of,.~n 14 Secretariat national 223, rue Main, Ottawa (Ontario), K 1 S 1 C4 Sans frals : Telecopleur: ACUFC.CA

5 c.c.: New Brunswick The Honourable Victor Boudreau, Minister ofhealth ofnew Brunswick The Honourable Francine Landry, Minister ofpost-secondary Education, Training and Labor ofnew Brunswick Ms. Katherine d'entremont, Commissioner ofofficial Languages for New-Brunswick Ontario The Honourable Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care ofontario The Honourable Reza Moridi, Minister oftraining, Colleges and Universities ofontario The Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, Attorney General & Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs ofontario Mr. Fran~ois Boileau, Commissioner - Office ofthe French Language Services Commissioner ofontario Ms. Anne Sutherland Boal, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Nurses Association Ms. Cynthia Baker, Executive Director, Canadian Association of Schools ofnursing Manitoba The Honourable Sharon Blady, Minister ofhealth ofmanitoba The Honourable James Allum, Minister ofeducation and Advanced Leaming ofmanitoba Mr. Guy Jourdain, Official Languages Commissioner's Representative for Manitoba and Saskatchewan Alberta The Honourable Sarah Hoffman, Minister ofhealth ofalberta The Honourable Lori Sigurdson, Minister of Advanced Education and Minister ofjobs, Skills, Training and Labour ofalberta The Honourable David Eggen, Minister of Culture and Tourism and Responsible for the Secretariat francophone ofalberta Mr. Deni Lorieau, Commissioner's Representative ofcanada in Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut Federal(;overnntent The Honourable Pierrette Ringuette, Senator, Senate ofcanada Mr. Hubert Lussier, Assistant Deputy Minister ofcitizenship, Heritage and Regions, Canadian Heritage Mr. Graham Fraser, Commissioner ofofficial Languages ofcanada Mr. Jean-Pierre C. Gauthier, Director General, Official languages Branch, Canadian Heritage Mr. Roger Guillemette, Acting Executive Director, Official Language Development Community Bureau Policy and Analysis, Strategic Policy Branch, Health Canada Ms. Barbara Foster, Nursing Manager, Health Human Resources Policy, Health Canada The Consortium national de formation en santc (CNFS) In place since 2003, the CNFS is a pan-canadian organization bringing together 11 universities and colleges which deliver training programs in various health disciplines in French, as well as regional partners who facilitate access to these training programs. Since April I st, 2015, the CNFS has been under the umbrella ofthe Association des colleges et universites de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC). The CNFS has greatly contributed to the creation of this new association and maintains its commercial identity and its operational model..) 15 Secretariat national 223, rue Main, Ottawa (Ontario), K1S 1C4 Sans frals ~ Telecopeur; ACUFC.CA