An exam all registered nurses in Canada have to take before they can start their formal practice just got a lot more expensive.The cost to take the Canadian National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) has jumped from $360 to $570 — a 58 per cent increase that students will have to pay for out of their own pockets.The Canadian Nursing Students’ Association (CNSA) says this increase creates a significant financial challenge, adding to the burdens of increasing tuition payments, regulatory licensing fees, and hundreds of full-time hours of mandatory unpaid clinical practicums.“We entered into nursing because we want to help people, and we want to help our communities,” said Hugo Tam, CNSA’s director of new graduate engagement.“At the end of the day, when there are increases year after year, it just makes it harder and harder for new graduates to enter the profession.”The association’s national assembly in charge of raising these fees says this is the first price adjustment since 2000.“The change reflects 25 years of inflation and rising costs associated with exams, data protection, and cybersecurity,” it said in a statement.While the CNSA says it understands why the cost needs to be raised, it hopes the rollout can be reconsidered.“They should really be talking to nursing students,” said association president Scarlett Montserrat Sanabria-Ramos.“If they’re going to do something like this, it should have been done incrementally throughout the years, and not all in one go.”The group also points to provincial governments, calling on them to help support future health-care workers — something the BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU) stands behind, noting there are nearly 5,000 nursing vacancies open in the province.“What we’re looking for governments to be doing is considering paid preceptorships and improved financial supports through grants and bursaries,” said BCNU vice-president Tristan Newby.“We’d like to see a tax deduction for students attending rural placements and student loan forgiveness to help reduce these financial pressures.”In 2023, the B.C. government created a $500 bursary for nursing graduates to help offset costs. However, this was discontinued in September last year.“A lot of these supports are slowly going away, and it all adds up for nursing students,” said Ryan Tandiama, a student at the University of the Fraser Valley.“It’s just very important to consider how we are supporting students who are entering a profession that is highly needed in this province and this country.”The increased fee will come into effect across Canada on Feb. 1, 2027.