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Registration with the Profession (Immatriculation or Licensing during the Course of Study)
Quebec legislation requires that any student in a health profession be registered with their respective professional order to ensure protection of the public. For nursing, that order is l’Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ). Only students with OIIQ registration of some form can have access to patients/clients during their nursing studies. This access is granted under the following conditions:
- As a student nurse with a Student Permit (this designation applies to B.Sc.(N.) students and nurse practitioner students)
- As a registered nurse—such as the B.N.(I) student who has successfully completed the licensure examination
Nursing students who do not meet one of the above three conditions are not able to continue in clinical courses.
Note: B.N.I. students who successfully complete their licensure exam must pay the OIIQ registration fees to obtain their official license. B.N.I. students who are successful on the OIIQ licensure examination will be charged based on pro-rata calculations for their license for the remainder of the fiscal year (dates as determined by the OIIQ). Ongoing registration with the OIIQ is required and annual fees must be paid as invoiced by the OIIQ. These fees cannot be waived, even if the B.N.I. student is not working while enrolled in the B.N.I. program. As such, if a B.N.I. student who has passed the OIIQ licensure exam does not pay full OIIQ fees, they are not considered registered with the OIIQ and thus cannot be in clinical settings (i.e., NUR1 434/435, NUR1 431 and NUR1 432).
The OIIQ refers to the above process as "immatriculation" so "registration" and "immatriculation" may be used interchangeably.
Any patient can request to verify your status or register a complaint with the OIIQ. Teachers and health facility agents can ask for proof of registration. Therefore, students must carry their proof of OIIQ registration at all times during clinical studies, including community visits.
Students holding an active registration with the profession adhere to the Regulation respecting the professional activities which may be performed by persons other than nurses (chapter I-8, s. 3, Nurses Act). As such, they may carry out the professional activities that nurses may perform that are required to complete the program of study in which they are registered, with the exception of the adjustment of the therapeutic nursing plan, when the following conditions have been met:
- They perform them as part of the program of study
- They perform them under the supervision of a nurse who supervises the training period and who is present in the care unit concerned in order to rapidly intervene (O.C. 551-2010.s.3)
The nursing student shall record [their] interventions in the patient's record with [their] signature, followed by "student n." If [their] signature cannot be clearly identified, [they] shall write [their] name in block letters after it (O.C. 551-2010.s.4).
Registration of a student in Nursing may be revoked by the OIIQ if the holder:
- has no longer been enrolled, for over one year, in a session of a program of studies leading to a diploma giving access to a permit from the Order or in a training course determined by the Order in accordance with section 9 of the Regulation respecting diploma or training equivalence for the issue of a permit by the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (chapter I-8.r.16);
- fails the program of studies leading to a diploma giving access to a permit from the Order or the training course determined by the Order in accordance with section 9 of said regulation;
- is expelled from the program of studies leading to a diploma giving access to a permit from the Order or the training course determined by the Order in accordance with section 9 of said regulation;
- obtained the registration certificate under false pretences; or
- performs professional acts reserved to nurses other than those authorized in a regulation under subparagraph h of section 94 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26) or does not meet the conditions for performing these acts, in particular those relating to the respect of the ethical obligations applicable to members of the Order.