HJBR Sep/Oct 2019

Healthcare Journal of BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2019 49 Each step of the model has been eval- uated to document evidence that future innovations in testing will support the psychometic rigor present in over 5.7 mil- lion administrations of the exam since April 1994. Since summer 2017, NCSBN has presented a Special Research Section as a component of the NCLEX-RN exam administration. Candidates volunteer to participate by answering questions in this special section, thus contributing to en- hancement of the exam and the nursing profession. This special section takes ap- proximately 30 minutes to complete and has no impact on the candidate’s NCLEX- RN score. The data collected in this special research section assists NCSBN to develop scoring rules on new test item types, pro- vides evidence of item characteristics and assesses how long candidates spend on each item. NCSBN is still in the research and development phase of NGN such that the earliest date for implementation of clinical judgement items would be 2023. Both students and educators have asked what new item types will be included on the NGN. Multiple item types are being evaluated including extended multiple response items, extended drag and drop items, drop-down (CLOZE) items, en- hanced hot-spot items, dynamic exhibit items, and constructed response items. 2 To date, the items have been de- veloped by expert nurses and psychometricians at NCSBN and Pearson VUE based on the steps of the clinical judgement model. The content has been validated with approved, cur- rent nursing references and NCSBN subject matter expert reviewers. Educators can begin to use the Clinical Judgment and Action Model (CJM) avail- able on the NCSBN website in the Next Generation NCLEX News, Spring 2019 edition, https://www.ncsbn.org/NGN_ Spring19_ENG_06_July_19. pdf. This model has been de- signed to explore innovative ways of testing clinical judge- ment in the nursing profession. The action model closes the gap between what is currently measured on the exam, what is taught in nursing curricula and what employers expect of new- ly licensed nurses transitioning to practice. The model allows educators to devel- op their own clinical scenarios and create their own questions. It marries clinical judgement and skills to textbook knowl- edge. NCSBN has developed numerous resources including newsletters, videos and webinars available at no cost. For more information, access the NGN toolkit at https://www.ncsbn.org/ngn-resources. htm. n References 1 National Council of State Boards of Nursing (2019). Next Generation NCLEX Project. https:// www.ncsbn.org/next-generation-nclex.htm 2 National Council of State Boards of Nursing (2019). NGN FAQs for Educators. https://www. ncsbn.org/11447.htm Karen C. Lyon, PhD APRN, NEA CEO Louisiana State Board of Nursing