ASSESSMENTS

Alberta Licensed Practical Nurses Competence Exam (ALPNCE)

Registration Portal User Guide

About

The Alberta Licensed Practical Nurses Competence Examination (ALPNCE) is designed to assess current knowledge, skills, and attitudes of those seeking Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) registration within the province of Alberta. This exam is not intended to replace the national exam, but rather to serve as a step in the LPN registration pathway for those applicants with a nursing credential for whom the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA) is seeking evidence of sufficient equivalency or prior learning.

The exam is designed to assess an applicant’s competency level in comparison to that of a recent graduate of a CLPNA approved Practical Nursing Program of Alberta. This exam is based on the entry-level competencies as outlined in the CLPNA’s Competency Profile for Licensed Practical Nurses 5th Edition (2020) document.

Visit the CLPNA Website

Key Dates

Future examination dates will be posted when they become available.

Examination Location:

Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
University of Alberta
Edmonton Clinic Health Academy (ECHA), Classroom 1-190
11405-87 Avenue NW, HSERC 2-263
Edmonton, Alberta

MAP

Future Exam Dates

Future examination dates will be posted when they become available.

Touchstone Institute reserves the right to cancel scheduled exams if the minimum number of registrants is not met. Those registered for cancelled exams will be notified by email and moved to the next available date or provided a full refund.

Registration

Registration for the ALPNCE is available to examinees who have received the following:

Referral from CLPNA
Email confirmation from Touchstone Institute

For additional information on ALPNCE eligibility, please get in touch with the CLPNA.

Before you register for a Touchstone Institute exam, please ensure you understand how the exam results contribute to your licensure pathway. If unsure, please get in touch with your profession’s regulatory authority.

Request Letter of Participation

Examinees may request a Letter of Participation to support visa travel requirements only after they have registered for an exam date. Letters cannot be issued without an exam date listed on them. Contact us here to request a letter. Please include your full name, email address and exam date.

Request for Exam Accommodation

Touchstone Institute will provide reasonable exam accommodations for examinees with a documented disability or special need. Requests and supporting documentation need to be submitted immediately after registering for an examination with us. See our Exam Accommodation Policy page for additional information.

Fees & Payment

ALPNCE fees are CAN $2,250 and payable by Credit Card through Moneris. Cash and cheques cannot be accepted. Registration is not complete without payment.

Cancellations & Refunds

Touchstone Institute accommodates a high volume of examinees and enforces a strict cancellation policy to ensure fairness. Please refer to our exam cancellation policy here.

Exam cancellation fee: CAN $600

Deadline for a refund (minus an administrative fee): 30 days before the date of your first exam component.

If there is a need to cancel your exam, click here

Code of Conduct

Exam Code of Conduct and Ethical Behaviour

Examinees participating in an assessment must sign an Exam Conduct Agreement attesting that they will not disseminate, circulate, publish or share any content of the examination. Breaches include comparing client responses with your colleagues, sharing exam content with future examinees and posting case information or exam questions online. Any breach in exam content or process may lead to disciplinary and legal measures, including invalidating your results.

Please visit the Ethical Exam Behaviour page and sign the agreement at the bottom.

Exam Format

All of our assessments are designed to standardize as many exam elements as possible. Depending on examinee registration numbers and facility parameters, exam format may vary from the information provided on our website. Information regarding your specific exam will be provided with your invitation. We are committed to ensuring that all examinees are given a fair and valid assessment experience. Click on the tabs for more information.

General Format

General Exam Format

No external contact is permitted during the exam.

The ALPNCE is a two-part examination:

A Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Examination – Examinees will be given 139 minutes to complete up to 90 questions.

An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) – Examinees will challenge up to 10 stations of 13 minutes each.

A score report is generated upon completion of both parts of the examination.

The exam is designed to assess an applicant’s competency level compared to a recent graduate of a CLPNA approved Practical Nursing Program of Alberta. This exam is based on the entry-level competencies outlined in the CLPNA’s Competency Profile for Licensed Practical Nurses 5th Edition (2020) document.

The Examination Blueprint can be found within the Exam Resources section.

In-Person MCQ Exam

Part 1: Written Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Examination (139 minutes)

The MCQ exam consists of up to 90 questions. Examinees are required to choose the correct or best answer from a list of three or four responses.

The Examination Blueprint can be found within the Exam Resources section.

In-Person OSCE

Part 2: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

Examinees complete up to 10 clinical encounter stations where they demonstrate their skills and competencies by interacting with a standardized patient. At the start of each station, examinee instructions will be posted outside the exam room door that introduces the presenting clinical problem and states the task(s) the examinees need to perform. After interacting with the standardized patient, the in-station examiner will ask the examinee questions about the station. The questions will be asked exactly as they are written on the examiner's test sheet.

The OSCE stations for this exam represent common workplace examples of the content areas. Examinees should manage each presenting case as they would in a real-life practice setting. There are no hidden surprises or tricks.

The Examination Blueprint can be found within the Exam Resources section.

OSCE Station Timing Details

Exam Resources

This page contains the following examination resources:

What to Expect on Exam Day

What to bring to the exam:

Copy of your exam invitation that was emailed to you, either a physical copy or on your phone.

One piece of valid photo identification. Acceptable pieces of photo identification include; a valid passport, a valid driver’s license, or Canadian citizenship or permanent resident card.

Items not allowed in the exam:

Examinees should leave personal belongings at home, if possible, as many items are not permitted during the exam and storage space is limited. The following items are not allowed during the exam:

Any electronic device, including cell phones, smart watches, tablets, computers

Pens, pencils, paper

Books, notebooks

Personal bags, wallets, purses, keys

Open food and drinks that are not part of your lunch.

Please note: All personal belongings will be collected at registration and stored until after the examination. Examinees are encouraged to bring as few personal belongings as possible. Once you have signed in, examinees will not be permitted to leave the examination area until all exam materials have been returned.

On the exam day, before you start the exam:

If you are unwell or have extenuating circumstances which may negatively impact your assessment performance, you have the option to withdraw from the exam before it begins. Touchstone Institute will work with you to schedule an alternate date for your examination.
If you choose to start the examination and request to leave before completing the entire examination, a staff member will document your reason for non-completion. This information will be forwarded to CLPNA.

Results

Examination results will take up to eight weeks to process and are sent directly to the Regulator. The Regulator communicates the results directly to examinees.

See cancellation policy

See the Registration Portal User Guide

Visualize the Exam

Assessment Partners

Touchstone Institute has collaborated with the following organization to develop and administer this assessment: