What... Another Survey?

The Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC) launched two important online surveys in October—one for RNs in nephrology nursing and one for advanced practice nurses in nephrology. Both surveys have the purpose of providing information about the actual practice of nephrology nurses today. The results will be used to validate the current blueprints for three NNCC examinations: Certified Nephrology Nurse (CNN), Certified Dialysis Nurse (CDN) and Certified Nephrology Nurse Practitioner (CNN-NP).

Validity is the most important feature of any examination, answering the question, “Does the test measure what it claims to measure?” Certification test questions must reflect actual current practice, and many factors influence practice in today’s rapidly changing healthcare system. This necessitates the production of “another survey!” The new surveys and analysis of findings will provide a direct link between the content of the three examinations to clinical practice today.

In order to get the best results the survey needs to be completed by a large sample of practitioners from across the nation, both certified and non-certified. All are welcome to participate! Participants will be given a list of activities and asked if they perform each activity. If the response is “yes,” they will then be asked how often they perform the activity and how important it is to their practice. The analysis of the data will provide a description of current practice and will be the basis for the content included in the certification examinations; that is, the test specifications or test blueprints.

Practice analysis surveys help to ensure certification examinations are psychometrically sound. Tests that are created using psychometric standards are of high quality and relevant to the domain of practice being tested. Practice analysis also helps ensure an examination is legally defensible; the content of the examination can be defended as derived from the survey input of a large number of actual practitioners.

The new surveys were carefully constructed with wide input and multiple reviews by several groups of practitioners. Initially, members of NNCC and the staff of the Center for Nursing Education and Testing (C-NET) reviewed and revised the previously used surveys. A Task Force of subject matter experts was formed to provide a broad range of input from various geographic and practice settings. The Test Committees for the three examinations also provided input. The process continued until the surveys went back to the NNCC commissioners for a final review and revision.

Now it is time for the targeted participants to come forth and complete the survey to accomplish the next step–provide the answers! Just click on the link below:

http://www.cnetnurse.com/nncc-survey/

Thank you in advance for YOUR help! And, please don’t say, “What….another survey?”