Registration Policy. Policy Number: R 13. New Policy X

Transcription

1 Page: 1 of 7 Effective Date: January 19, 2015 Signature New Policy X Revision: Partial Complete Review Date: January 2018 Applies To: Candidates requesting to write the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) Purpose: Purpose: This policy outlines the requirements for candidates wishing to write the national examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX RN). These requirements are in addition to, or in clarification of, those found in the Nursing Profession Act and RNANT/NU Bylaws. Policy: (1) Approved Examination The Board of Directors recognizes the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) as the membership examination for initial registration by examination in NT/NU. The NCLEX-RN is developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and delivered by Pearson Vue. The NCLEX-RN uses Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) to determine a candidate s ability to provide safe and effective entry-level nursing practice in relation to a passing standard. (2) Establishing Eligibility to Write Examination NCLEX-RN candidates are required to apply to both the regulatory body (RNANT/NU) and Pearson Vue. a) The following must be submitted to RNANT/NU: i) NCLEX-RN Application Form, ii) NCLEX-RN Administration Fee, iii) Evidence of program completion from candidate s school of nursing. A prescribed RNANT/NU Recommendation Form is required from the Dean/Chair of the School of Nursing on or after the completion date. This form confirms the candidate s successful completion of a nursing program and recommends eligibility to write the examination. b) A personal candidate profile must be established on the Pearson Vue NCLEX Candidate Website or by telephone with Pearson Vue. The Profile ID number provided will be required when the following is submitted to Pearson Vue: i) NCLEX-RN Application Form, ii) NCLEX-RN Write Fee. c) A candidate s registration will remain open on the Pearson Vue website for a 365-day time period during which RNANT/NU may determine their eligibility. This time period begins when RNANT/NU receives notification of the candidate s registration with Pearson Vue in NCSBN s NCLEX Administration website.

2 Page: 2 of 7 d) Once all documentation and fees have been received by RNANT/NU and Pearson Vue, RNANT/NU is able to make the candidate Eligible to Write in the NCLEX Administration Website. e) Once a candidate has been declared eligible, they cannot change the regulatory body (RNANT/NU) where they wish to write or the language chosen to write the examination. f) If RNANT/NU sets the candidate s eligibility status to Denied, the denial will be included in the candidate s exam history, which is viewable on the NCLEX Administration Website. g) Once the candidate is made eligible to write by RNANT/NU in the NCLEX Administration website, Pearson Vue will send the candidate an Authority to Test (ATT) via . h) The ATT will include a 90 day period of validity dates for the location where the candidate has requested to write the examination. The candidate must write the examination within these dates; validity dates cannot be extended for any reason. If the candidate does not test within the designated ATT period, the ATT becomes invalid and Pearson Vue will not allow the candidate to schedule an appointment. i) To complete the NCLEX-RN registration, the candidate is required to Pearson Vue confirm all information in the ATT is correct. (3) Eligibility Period A candidate must have written and passed the NCLEX RN within two years of course completion. (4) Writing Centers The National Council of State Boards of Nursing Registered Nurse Examination (NCLEX RN) will be written in temporary testing centers (TTC) in Yellowknife, NT and Iqaluit, NU at a location arranged by Pearson Vue. (5) Writing in other jurisdictions Candidates who have graduated from a nursing program in NT or NU that choose to write the NCLEX-RN outside of the NT or NU must submit an application to the province or state where they wish to write the examination. Candidates will be required in their online application through Pearson Vue to indicate where they wish to write the examination. (6) Proctoring Candidates from Other Jurisdictions Candidates from other jurisdictions that choose to write the NCLEX-RN in the NT or NU will be required to submit an application to RNANT/NU. Candidates will be required in their online application through Pearson Vue to indicate they wish to write in the NT or NU. Once all documentation and fees have been received by RNANT/NU and Pearson Vue, RNANT/NU is able to make the candidate Eligible to Write on the NCLEX-RN Administration Website.

3 Page: 3 of 7 (7) Application Deadline a) NCLEX-RN candidates choosing to write in the NT or NU must apply to RNANT/NU and Pearson Vue a minimum of 30 days before the examination date they wish to write. b) NCLEX-RN candidates choosing to write in the NT or NU are able to change a previously set appointment up to 30 days before the scheduled exam date and time by contacting both RNANT/NU and accessing the NCLEX Candidate Website. c) Failure to change the appointment 30 days before the scheduled exam date and time will result in forfeiture of the registration fee. The candidate will need to reregister and pay another examination fee. d) Appointments may not be rescheduled or canceled by leaving a message on an answering machine. e) Candidates will receive a confirmation whenever an appointment is unscheduled or rescheduled. (8) Testing Accommodations for Candidates NCSBN and RNANT/NU will provide testing accommodations to qualified candidates as outlined in RNANT/NU R14: Membership Examination Accommodations. (9) Identification NCLEX-RN candidates are required to show one form of acceptable current identification when they arrive at the test center. The following are acceptable forms of identification: Passport, Government issued photo identification (Driver s License, Provincial/Territorial ID card). a) The first and last name printed on the candidate s identification must match exactly with the first and last name they registered with Pearson Vue and RNANT/NU. b) Candidates wishing to make a name change, address change or change prior to the examination day must contact RNANT/NU and provide legal documentation; this cannot be done at the test center. c) The only acceptable forms of legal documentation for name change are: a marriage license, divorce decree and/or a court action legal name change document. All documents must contain the name change in Roman Characters and must be the original documents. d) If the name of the identification does not match the name the candidate registered with, the candidate will be turned away by Pearson Vue and will have to reregister and pay another examination fee. Candidates will also be photographed and have their palm vein scan taken. If a candidate refuses to be photographed or have a palm vein scan taken they will not be allowed to test.

4 Page: 4 of 7 (10) Candidate Examination Rules All candidates writing the NCLEX-RN will be expected to follow the NCLEX Examination Candidate Rules as outlined in the NCSBN Examination Candidate Bulletin. a) A candidate who violates the test center regulations or rules or engages in inappropriate behaviour may be dismissed from the test center and their Pearson Vue examination fee and RNANT/NU administration fee will not be refunded. The examination result may be withheld or cancelled by Pearson Vue, and could result in denial of registration with RNANT/NU. (11) Dishonest Practices a) The following behaviours of misconduct include but are not limited to: Giving or receiving assistance of any kind (in person, by phone, text or ) during the examination including breaks; Using, accessing or attempting to access any prohibited aids; Attempting to take the NCLEX-RN for someone else; Bringing any NCLEX-RN study aids to the testing center, or attempting to access study materials at any time after the start of the examination including break times; Creating a disturbance of any kind; Tampering with the operation of the computer or attempting to use it for any function other than taking the examination. b) In the case of identified misconduct, the NCSBN will send a letter to the candidate identifying their violation of the candidate rules. Their examination results will be put on hold with the intention of cancelling the examination results and notifying RNANT/NU. c) Upon receipt of the letter from NCSBN regarding the misconduct, candidates will have the option of Appeal or Acceptance of the Results Cancellation. In the letter from NCSBN, candidates are instructed as to how they could appeal or if they choose to accept the examination results cancellation. (12) Examination Time The maximum time allowed for the NCLEX-RN examination is six hours. This time includes the tutorial and all breaks. (13) Late Arrival for Examination Candidates will be admitted up to 30 minutes after their scheduled appointment time. Pearson Vue will attempt to accommodate late arriving candidates, however, if they are not able to do so, the exam fee will be forfeited and the candidate will need to submit a new registration form and fee to reschedule. This will be reported in the Pearson Vue system, an incident report will be sent to NCSBN, and it will be listed on the NCLEX-RN Administration Website as a no-show.

5 Page: 5 of 7 (14) Self-Termination of NCLEX-RN Candidates who self-terminate their examination for any reason after receiving the first item and before completing the minimum-length examination will be reported as having failed the examination. Candidates who self-terminate their examination after completing at least a minimum-length examination will be considered to have run out of time and will be subject to the run-out-of-time rule. The circumstances surrounding the self-termination will be reported in an incident report to NCSBN. (15) No Show Candidates NCLEX-RN candidates who do not attend the NCLEX-RN write as scheduled forfeit the examination fee to Pearson Vue and the administration fee to RNANT/NU. The candidate must reapply for eligibility to write through RNANT/NU and Pearson Vue to reschedule. This no show will be recorded as an attempt to write. (16) Confidentiality NCLEX-RN candidates may not disclose to anyone, including instructors, information about the items or answers seen on the examination. This includes posting or discussing questions on the Internet and social media websites. Disclosure of examination items before, during, or after the examination could result in denial of registration with RNANT/NU. (17) Release of Examination Results a) All NCLEX-RN results are scored twice by the computer at the test center and again when results are verified after the examination record has been transmitted to Pearson Vue. No results are released at the test center. b) If the rescore result does not match the result of the original score algorithm, Pearson Vue will contact NCLEX administration staff to determine if a Free and Immediate Retest (FAIR) will be issued. c) Successful candidates will be sent examination results from RNANT/NU via within one week of the receipt of examination results from Pearson Vue. d) If a candidate fails the NCLEX-RN: RNANT/NU will attempt to telephone the candidate about their results. RNANT/NU will the candidate a copy of their Candidate Performance Report (CPR) that comes from Pearson Vue. This report identifies the examination as a fail, provides the number of items administered to the candidate, and a summary of the candidate s relative strengths and weaknesses based on the test plan. This CPR is intended to help guide a candidate s study before retaking the examination. (18) NCLEX-RN PASS/FAIL Decision Rules The decision of whether a candidate passes or fails the NCLEX-RN examination is governed by three different scenarios:

6 Page: 6 of 7 The 95% Confidence Interval Rule the computer will stop administering items when it is 95% certain the candidate s ability is either clearly above or clearly below the passing standard. Maximum-Length Exam the computer continues to administer questions until the maximum number of items is reached. At this point, the computer disregards the 95% confidence rule and considers only the final ability estimate: If the final ability estimate is above the passing standard, the candidate passes. If the final ability estimate is below the passing standard, the candidate fails. Run-Out-Of-Time Rule (R.O.O.T.)- If a candidate runs out of time before reaching the maximum number of items and the computer has not determined with 95% certainty whether the candidate has passed or failed, an alternative criteria is used. If the candidate has not answered the minimum number of required items, the candidate automatically fails. If the minimum number of required items were answered, the computer looks at the last 60 ability estimates: If the last 60 ability estimates were consistently above the passing standard, the candidate passes. If the candidate s ability estimate drops below the passing standard even once over the last 60 items, the candidate fails. (19) Retake of NCLEX-RN a) NCSBN allows candidates to retake their examination a minimum of 45 days after the original test date. Candidates who wish to retake the examination must reapply to RNANT/NU and Pearson Vue. b) Candidates who are in the 45 day waiting period to re-write the NCLEX-RN may apply to RNANT/NU for a Temporary Certificate as per R3: Temporary Certificate. (20) Examination Writing Attempt a) The RNANT/NU allows candidates three attempts to successfully pass the registration examination. This includes any previous unsuccessful Canadian Registered Nurse Examination (CRNE) writes as well as previous unsuccessful NCLEX-RN writes. b) A candidate that fails the NCLEX-RN after three attempts will not be eligible for registration. c) If a candidate had been issued a RNANT/NU Temporary Certificate and is unsuccessful in their third writing attempt, they must relinquish their Temporary Certificate to RNANT/NU immediately upon receipt of their results. d) An RN that has successfully written the CRNE and chooses to write the NCLEX-RN would be permitted three attempts.

7 Page: 7 of 7 (21) Power Outage during Examination a) If the candidate passes, the original results are released. b) If the candidate fails, Pearson Vue will review the exam record and determine if irregularities exist. c) If no irregularities are found, the examination result can be released. d) If irregularities are found, Pearson Vue will contact NCSBN to determine if the results were affected. If it is found that the results were affected, NCLEX-RN administration staff will determine if a FAIR (Free and Immediate Retest) will be issued. If it is determined that the results were not affected, the original results are released. e) If a power outage results in more than a 30 minute delay before the examination could be restarted, NCLEX Administration Staff will determine if a FAIR will be issued. f) Anytime an exam is restarted three or more times and the candidate fails, a FAIR is issued. (22) Natural Disaster If a natural disaster (eg. earthquake, flood, blizzard) is verified by RNANT/NU, Pearson Vue will permit candidates who had been scheduled to test in an affected area to reschedule their exam appointments without penalty, provided that the candidate follows the guidelines outlined in the NCLEX-RN Administration Manual. The Pearson Vue Natural Disaster policy does not apply to personal emergencies. Conditions and Exceptions: None Authority and Accountability: This policy is issued under the authority of the RNANT/NU Board of Directors and is governed by the NWT Nursing Profession Act (2004) s11 (1) (zd), s22 (2) (b) (iii), (c) (iii), Nunavut Nursing Act (2004) (2), and RNANT/NU Bylaw 2 s1 (8) (a) (ii) (iii). The Board of Directors has the authority to revise this Policy as required. The Registrar is accountable to the Board of Directors, and ultimately to the membership, for the implementation of this policy and may delegate any related administrative tasks. History: This policy replaces: R13: Examinations General Provisions issued in May 1996: R14: Examination CRNE issued October 14, 2004.