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Abstract: A task force appointed by the American Board of Neuroscience Nursing conducted a role delineation study to define current practice in neuroscience nursing. The results were used to validate the content matrix for future Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) examinations. The study employed a survey design for which the Nursing Intervention Classification taxonomy was the guiding theoretical framework. The eligible sample included all current CNRNs and all members of the American Association of Neuroscience Nursing. An invitation to participate in an online survey was successfully e-mailed to 2,462 neuroscience nurses; the survey was completed by 477 respondents. They rated the performance and importance of 175 neuroscience nursing activities. On the basis of data analysis conducted by Schroeder Measurement Technologies, Inc., the task force recommended revisions to the CNRN examination matrix to reflect current practice in neuroscience nursing.
Certification, as defined by the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS), "is the formal recognition of the specialized knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrated by the achievement of standards identified by a nursing specialty to promote optimal health outcomes" (ABNS, 2006). The American Board of Neuroscience Nursing (ABNN) was established to design, implement, and evaluate a certification program for professional nurses involved in the specialty practice of neuroscience nursing (American Association of Neuroscience Nurses [AANN], 2006). Since 1978, the certification granted by ABNN to nurses practicing in this specialty is the Certified Neuroscience Registered Nurse (CNRN) designation.
Studies of role delineation within nursing specialties are used to provide evidence that a certification examination provided by a certification program is reliable and valid. The Joint Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Psychological Association, 1999) state that "the content domain to be covered by a credentialing test should be defined dearly and justified in terms of importance of the content for the credential-worthy performance in an occupation or profession" (p. 161). In 2002 ABNS awarded a 5-year accreditation to the CNRN examination, signifying that the examination demonstrated compliance with certification standards. ABNS Standard 7 states, "The certifying organization has conducted validation studies to assure that inferences made on the basis of test scores are appropriate and justified," and generally recommends that job analyses be conducted within 5 years of the last full analysis (ABNS, 2004). ABNN conducted...