Canadian Registered Nurse Examination June 2005 – May 2010

As of February 2008, the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam (CRNE) will consist solely of multiple-choice questions. For details about the exam, please read the information below.

Each provincial or territorial nursing regulatory body in Canada is responsible for ensuring that the individuals it registers as nurses meet an acceptable level of competence before beginning to practise.

The level of competence of registered nurses in all provinces and territories except Quebec is measured, in part, by the CRNE. The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) develops and maintains the CRNE through its testing company, Assessment Strategies Inc., and in collaboration with the regulatory authorities. The provincial and territorial nursing regulatory authorities administer the exam and determine eligibility to write it.

The purpose of the CRNE is to protect the public by ensuring that the entry-level registered nurse possesses the competencies required to practise safely and effectively.

Examination Length and Format

As of February 2008, the CRNE will consist of multiple-choice questions only. There are about 300 questions on the exam.

Question Presentation

Of the approximately 300 multiple-choice questions on the CRNE, about 40 per cent are presented as independent questions and 60 per cent are presented within cases. Case-based questions include a set of three to five questions associated with a brief health-care scenario. Independent questions contain the information necessary to answer the questions.

What Is Tested With the CRNE

The following text is taken from the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam Prep Guide (2005). There are 194 competencies that make up the content domain for the CRNE. Each question on the CRNE is linked to one of these competencies.

Competency Framework

A framework was developed to identify and organize the competencies the CRNE should assess. The resulting framework reflects a primary health care nursing model. The framework and definitions of the four framework categories are presented below. The number of competencies in each category is indicated in parentheses following the category name. The number of competencies in each category does not necessarily reflect the importance each area of competency has in the practice of nursing.