Voices Raised: The NCLEX-RN Experience in Canada

The journey to this issue on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) began when the CJNL editorial director received two unsolicited NCLEX-focused manuscripts for consideration to publish. Adding to the growing body of articles and news stories published about the NCLEX since its 2015 implementation in Canada, the two papers revealed that the NCLEX-RN remains a controversial and unresolved issue for our profession. CJNL has long published special issues to focus attention on specific topics. Such focused publication creates a convenient repository of knowledge and information about a given subject, facilitating deeper exploration of the issue and serving as a historical reference point for the topic going forward. This issue continues that tradition by presenting 10 papers that discuss the NCLEX from the perspectives of researchers, policy makers, educators, students and a coalition of nurses that is vigorously advocating for remedies to address the disproportionately adverse impact of the NCLEX on students and especially on francophone writers. As CJNL's editor for policy and innovation, I was asked to serve as guest editor for this issue, and it has been my privilege to do so.