There is strength in numbers and we are more than 33,000 RNs and NPs in Alberta. If all of us vote for candidates whose election platform support issues of importance to the nursing profession and the public, the next legislature could be positioned to take action on those priorities.

Here’s how you can be involved. You can actively support a candidate who shares your professional concerns and beliefs on health care issues. You can call or visit candidates, speak to candidates when they come to your door, and attend public candidate meetings. Follow media, including social media, to learn about opportunities to interact with candidates such as town hall meetings, debates, local appearances and media call-in shows. Write a letter to the editor or leave a voice message in response to an article or news item.

The Turn up the Heat section of the CARNA website has resources to help you become informed and active such as links to party platforms; links to help you find your riding and candidates running there; background material on issues; and tips for how to engage with candidates. Never underestimate the power of your own experience as a registered nurse and your own voice. Your vote really will matter on election day on April 23rd.

There are always many potential areas of focus in health care. What do you think the top three priorities should be for our health system and what is your message on these important issues?

I encourage everyone to consider running for Council. The work is challenging and you will have input into the major decisions that impact your profession and protect the public. You will leave with a new insight into how one individual with passion and a will to make a difference can influence the bigger picture. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  These are challenging and exciting times for our profession and you can influence the path and direction we take.

Last year, only 5.6% of eligible members voted in the provincial council election and some regions did not have candidates for their vacancies.  Council is very concerned and looking for ways to involve members.  What do you suggest?

 Times have certainly changed. I do recall as a young nurse that the experienced nurses worked until they were 65 and were deeply saddened by retirement from a profession they dearly loved. Many of these nurses continued to work as volunteers in the community in various roles (e.g. Hospice Centres) to have the opportunity to continue their remarkable work and leadership.

It is critical to encourage retention of registered nurses at every stage in our careers. We lose experience, knowledge and leadership when an RN retires at 55 or earlier. We also need to retain our experienced RNs to be the mentors for new graduates, to guide and support their growth into their new roles. Many challenges face our new graduates in our complex system and they need expert guidance and support to succeed.   

Recently, I had a wonderful e-mail conversation with an enthusiastic new graduate. She indicated that she loved her new job and nursing. Her enthusiasm simply jumped off the page. How can we nurture such enthusiasm for our profession? What motivates you to stay in your role as a registered nurse? If you are considering leaving the profession, what would encourage you to stay? Please share your ideas and your stories so others may benefit from your insights.

To begin, you may wonder why a change in the exam was even considered in the first place. Currently, RN candidates write the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE), a paper and pen exam offered through the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). This exam is a valid assessment tool for entry-level competencies. A computer-adaptive exam format is considered state-of-the art and best practice. Moving to a computer-adaptive exam will, among other things, be more accessible to candidates, continue to be based on Canadian content, be offered in English and French, be affordable and will reflect our high Canadian nursing standards.

The CEOs/EDs of the regulatory bodies for registered nursing in Canada chose to issue a global request for proposal (RFP) for a vendor to develop and administer the new computer exam. The RFP included several requirements including:

• ensuring a Canadian context exam
• involvement of Canadian RN experts in exam development and approval
• an exam offered in both English and French;
• compliance with Canada’s national and provincial/territorial privacy legislation

The NCSBN was selected as the successful vendor. Next steps in the process include moving into negotiations on an acceptable process for exam development and administration.

So what does this mean for Alberta? Alberta legislation is very clear. Provincial Council makes the final decisions on regulatory matters and approves the entry-to-practice exam for Alberta. We take this role very seriously. Council must articulate and approve the essential criteria that NCSBN must meet for development and administration of the exam. NCSBN must demonstrate to Council how they will fulfill their commitment to address all requirements identified by Council and in the RFP.

To be specific, the RFP was for development of a new exam; it will not be acceptable to simply adopt the American NCLEX-RN exam. In addition, there are significant privacy concerns to be addressed particularly given the breadth of the U.S. Patriot Act. If all criteria are met, the contract will be signed to move the development processes forward.

Our goal is a new Canadian exam that meets very high Canadian standards for entry-to-practice nursing knowledge and practice. Some concerns have been raised regarding the impact of this decision on CARNA’s future relationship with CNA. As your president, I can affirm that CARNA will continue to strongly support the work of CNA as the national and respected voice of our profession.

Now I want to hear from you. Many of you have expressed your thoughts to me already and I thank you. However, I urge you to also join this community conversation. What do you think are the most important criteria for an entry-to-practice exam? Decisions will be made at the January 2012 Provincial Council meeting. We will also be holding information sessions in Edmonton, Calgary, and Lethbridge to start.

How do you want to be kept informed on this issue as your Council proceeds?

See the CARNA Q&A on the RN Exam

Letter to the Editor

Submitted to Calgary Herald on Dec. 20, 2011

Published on Dec. 29, 2011

Re: Redford making good on clinic pledge

The Premier’s announcement that government will start creating family care clinics early in 2012 is exciting. Interdisciplinary teams working in family care clinics will provide timely access to services when people need them and improve management of chronic illnesses in the community. The benefits of inter-professional care and the development of a team-based approach to care are well-known and documented. Preventing illness and promoting health is the best way to reduce demand on our over-stretched health care system over the long –term . It was heartening to learn that 44 communities recognize the value that nurse practitioners, pharmacists, mental health workers, registered nurses, physiotherapists and other professionals bring to primary health care. Patients will now be able to access badly needed health services without always going through a physician first. While the loss of family physicians in Slave Lake is unfortunate, the situation provides an opportunity to re-establish primary health care services using the new family care clinic approach. Hopefully, the opening of the three family care clinics mentioned in the article will be the first of many such openings throughout the province.

Dianne Dyer, President
College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta