About
The Alberta Registered Nurses Assessment Program (ARNAP) is a standardized examination that assesses the knowledge, skills and judgement of internationally educated nurses (IENs) seeking nursing registration in Alberta. In addition to nursing skills, the ARNAP will assess examinees’ comprehension, performance in client interactions, ethics, and professionalism. The program was created by Touchstone Institute in collaboration with the College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA).
In-person OSCE 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
MCQ Location: Remote Virtual
Touchstone Institute will refer to all individuals challenging an exam as examinees. In some virtual experiences, the term candidate may be used interchangeably with examinee.
Future Exam Dates
Future Exam Dates
Future exam dates will be posted here once they are confirmed. Registration begins at 10:00 am EST
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
Registration for the ARNAP is available to examinees who have received the following:
- Referral from CRNA
- Email confirmation from Touchstone Institute
Instructions on registering for the assessment can be found in the Application Portal User Guide.
For additional information on ARNAP eligibility, please contact the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta.
Before you register for a Touchstone Institute Exam please ensure you understand how the exam results contribute in your pathway towards licensure. If unsure, please contact 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, exam date, and CRNA number.
Fees & Payment
Fees & Payment
ARNAP fees are CAN$ 1,900 and payable by Credit Card or Visa Debit through PayPal. 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 email us at exams@tsin.ca
Microloans
The below organizations provide low-interest microloans to Alberta newcomers to help with expenses related to licensure (certification, including training, examinations, textbooks and study materials, skills upgrading, and licensing fees).
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
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
The ARNAP consists of two sections:
- A Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) examination – up to 71 questions (110 minutes of writing time)
- An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) – up to 12 stations (13 minutes each)
The ARNAP may include clinical content from the following areas:
- Ambulatory care
- Community/public health
- Complex continuing care
- Emergency care
- Geriatrics
- Intensive/critical care
- Medical
- Mental health
- Obstetrics/maternal newborn
- Palliative care
- Pediatric and adolescent health
- Rehabilitation
- Surgical
In Person MCQ Exam
Part 1: Written multiple choice exam (110 minutes)
The MCQ exam consists of up to 71 questions. Examinees are required to choose the correct or best answer from a list of three or four responses. The MCQ exam assesses the following professional competencies:
Domain: Professional Responsibility and Accountability
- Demonstrates an understanding of professional conduct in accordance with the College’s standards for nursing practice and ethics and that the primary duty is to the client to ensure safe, competent, ethical nursing care.
Domain: Service to the Public
- Demonstrates an understanding of the concept of public protection and the duty to provide and improve health care services in collaboration with clients and other members of the interprofessional health care team, stakeholders and policy makers.
Domain: Self-Regulation
- Demonstrates an understanding of professional self-regulation by advocating in the public interest, developing and enhancing one’s own competence and ensuring safe practice.
In-Person OCSE Exam
Part 2: Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)
Examinees complete up to 12 clinical encounter stations where they demonstrate their skills and competencies by interacting with a standardized client. At the start of each station, there will be examinee instructions posted outside the exam room door that introduce the presenting clinical problem and states the task(s) the examinees need to perform.
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 OSCE consists of the following competency domains:
Domain: Knowledge-Based Practice
This competency category has two sections: Specialized Body of Knowledge and Competent Application of Knowledge.
- Specialized body of knowledge: Draws on diverse sources of knowledge and ways of knowing, including the integration of nursing knowledge from the sciences, humanities, research, ethics, spirituality, relational practice, critical inquiry and primary healthcare principles.
- Competent application of knowledge: Demonstrates competency in the provision of nursing care. The competency statements in this section apply to the four areas of nursing care: Assessment, Planning, Implementation of Care and Evaluation. The provision of nursing care is an iterative process of critical inquiry and is not linear in nature.
RN Competency Category Sub-domains
- Comprehensive assessment
- Health care planning
- Provision of nursing care
- Evaluation of care
- Collaboration
Domain: Ethical Practice
Demonstrates competency in professional judgment and practice decisions by applying the ethical values and responsibilities in the College’s standards for ethics. The registered nurse also engages in critical inquiry to inform clinical decision-making and establishes therapeutic, caring and culturally safe relationships with clients and the interprofessional healthcare team.
The OSCE will assess an examinee’s:
- Knowledge integration
- Clinical skills
- Behaviour
- Attitude
- Values
Exam Resources
Exam Resources
Visualize the Exam
Examinees commit to keep all exam content confidential
A standardized client interacts with an examinee
Subject matter experts score performance on tablets
What To Expect on OSCE Exam Day
OSCE Exam Day
What to bring to the exam:
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:
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 CRNA.
Breach of exam content and process
On exam day, examinees will be required to sign a document attesting that they will not disseminate, circulate, publish or share any content of the ARNAP. 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.
Results
Results from the ARNAP take up to eight weeks to process and are sent directly to CRNA. CRNA communicates the results directly to examinees.
OSCE Exam Process
In-Person OSCE Exam Setup
Please note: Touchstone Institute reserves the right to make any necessary changes at any time without advance notice.
The assessment room is equipped with:
- Blood pressure cuff
- Hand sanitizer
- Examiner
- Other station props related to the station scenario for examinee use or comment
- Standardized client
*A standardized client is an individual trained to replicate a client’s signs and symptoms in a reliable and consistent manner. Treat them as you would a real client in a real clinical environment.
Two minutes of reading time
On the wall outside each clinical station there are examinee instructions that may include the following information:
- Client’s name
- Client’s age
- Location of where the scenario is taking place (i.e., office, clinic, emergency room)
- Task examinee is asked to perform (i.e., physical examination, history taking, etc.)
Examinees will have two minutes to read the instructions outside the stations and make notes in their booklet (provided).
An announcement will be made to let examinees know when they can enter the station. The examinee instructions will also be available in the exam room.
Seven minutes of total interaction time with the standardized client.
Examinees will have seven minutes to interact with the standardized client and complete the required task(s) listed on the instructions.
During the client encounter, examinees will be assessed on the following:
- Health history and data collection
- Physical assessment
- Implementation of care strategies
- Responsibility and integrity
- Communication
- Collaboration with the client
A standardized client is an individual trained to replicate a client’s signs and symptoms in a reliable and consistent manner. Treat them as you would a real client in a real clinical environment.
Examinees are required to explain to the station examiner exactly what they are doing during the assessment of the client. Remain focused and don’t forget that the examiner will be scoring your clinical skills and process. Successful examinees will be able to demonstrate their clinical ability with the client in a natural, focused, professional manner.
Examiners may move around the room to get the best view while you demonstrate your skills. Examiners may also provide information to examinees such as blood pressure results or vital signs if they are directed to do so on their scoring sheet and only after the examinee has initiated the examination maneuver.
At the six-minute mark, examinees will hear an announcement indicating that they have one minute remaining with the standardized client. This is a good time to provide a summary of the points covered with the client.
The client encounter is followed by a structured oral interview during which the examiner may ask up to four questions about the presenting case. During this time, the standardized client will no longer engage with the examinee. During the examiner oral questions, examinees will be assessed on:
- Analysis and interpretation of findings
- Nursing care plan development
- Prioritization
- Evaluation and monitoring of care
- Collaboration with the healthcare team
- Ethical safety/advocacy
- Legal obligations
Exit and proceed to the next station
An announcement will be made to indicate when time is up. Examinees will be asked to leave the station immediately, move to the next station and begin reading the examinee instructions. Examinees are not allowed to enter or leave a station before they are told to do so.
Assessment Partners
Touchstone Institute has collaborated with the following organization to develop and administer this assessment:
