The SEC is not a test with a pass or fail result. It is an assessment of your professional nursing knowledge, skills, values, judgement & critical thinking; & the ability to apply these safely, competently & ethically under Canadian standards. It will be at least 2 days and up to 5 days in duration, depending on your experience and education.
Depending on how well the IEN does on the SEC it will determine how many and what kind of further requirements or training they will have to fulfill before they are deemed work-safe for the Canadian workforce and be eligible to write the CRNE.
Doing poorly on the SEC may result in having to complete a 1 year refresher program at a local public university, or perhaps even complete a 4 year BScN.
Doing really well on the SEC may result in only having to complete a short (as little as 1 day) orientation class on Nursing in Canada, or no requirements at all. THE CRNE (Canadian Registered Nurse Exam) The CRNE is pass or fail, and it can only be taken up to 3 times. An IEN can apply for a test date for the CRNE when they have completed the SEC assessment and its resulting requirements. The dates for the CRNE are already set in advance (the 1st Wednesday of February, June and October of every year) and must be applied for at least 2 months in advance of the date perferred. As of January 2015, the CRNE will be replaced by the Canadian NCLEX-RN exam.