Later this year the Caribbean Examinations Council will administer its first ever Regional Examination for Nurse Registration, the test that all CARICOM nurses must sit before entering the profession, officials announced at a stakeholder meeting in Barbados last week.
The RENR will be held in October, said Cleveland Sam, assistant registrar for public information with the CXC. In the past, the exam has been administered by CARICOM’s Regional Nursing Body.
The move is part of a series of changes CXC has on stream for this year. Some are designed to help the body modernise; others are to help it achieve its goal of being financially self-sufficient.
“We don’t want to have to depend on the government subvention,” said Dr. Gordon Harewood, a senior assistant registrar. The CXC’s $50 million budget comes mostly from exam fees, but it also receives a subvention from CARICOM.
Electronic marking is one way to achieve both goals, said Susan Giles, another senior assistant registrar who spoke at the meeting.
See the March 15, 2012 edition for full coverage.