Consider these points when choosing a competency exam provider:

• Be careful of companies that claim National Validation, yet have NO DATA to back it up.
• Be careful of companies that offer clinical exams, yet do NOT have a Nurse or Clinician on staff. How committed could they be to keeping content current?
• According to some company’s marketing material for competency testing, “there are no additional fees”. Remember the old saying, “you get what you pay for”.
• When making a decision on a testing and competency company, choose the company that lives and breathes testing. NurseTesting.com has been in the competency testing business for over 5 years and was created by an RN with the mission of providing the best and most current exam material in the industry. NurseTesting.com has 3 Full-Time Mastered Prepared Nurses on Staff.

What does it mean to have Nationally Validated Exams?

• There are two levels of Validation.
  • First, exams are vetted by clinicians across the nation, to verify that the exams are accurate and relevant. This means that an exam that is appropriate for a provider in California also is appropriate in North Carolina.
  • The second and most reliable level requires a thorough, panel-driven Guidelines Oriented Job Analysis (GOJA) coupled with a Test Validation and Analysis Program (TVAP). The panel of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), each active in the practice for which the exam is targeted, provide statistically sound verification that each question and answer is relevant, accurate, transportable, and non-biased. This process validates the exam within the guidelines set by the Federal Uniform Guidelines on Selection Procedures.

The Federal Uniform Guidelines on Selection Procedures provides several advantages:

• Comprehensive Job analysis Report:

  This report allows clients to view the demographics and experience of the panel of SMEs, as well as the content and expertise required and often includes over 100 pages of data and reporting including:

  • Required Job Duties
  • Required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)
  • Importance and frequency ratings for job duties and KSAs
  • Information linking KSAs with the appropriate job duties

• Comprehensive Test Plan:

  This plan includes all test questions and answers developed, comprehensive SME ratings and surveys, and a comprehensive detailed statistical analysis of the body of test items. This test plan includes detailed statistics addressing possible Adverse Impact for each item and the exam entire. This Test Plan integrates with the Job Analysis Report by linking individual test questions with validated Job Duties and KSAs.

• Defensibility under EEOC Title VII:

  The GOJA and TVAP process and its results, demonstrate that a given exam provides valid, reliable and defensible content, and therefore can be used as part of the hiring process.

Each step of the content validation study is a time consuming, labor intensive process and cannot be rushed or modified. Only adequately trained facilitators can effectively and efficiently conduct this process using the correct methodology that meets the federal guidelines. It also requires many subject matter experts for each exam topic, to ensure valid results of the GOJA and TVAP processes. NurseTesting has, for years, provided the first level of validation for the majority of our exams, including the most-used and critical exams. See our page for more information on our Nationally Validated Exams.

NurseTesting is currently applying the GOJA and TVAP processes, as guided by Biddle Consulting Group, Inc. NurseTesting is nearing completion on several of our most widely distributed critical exams. Existing exams will continue to be updated, guaranteeing NurseTesting clients the best, most accurate and useful tests in the industry.

NurseTesting provides nationally validated tests backed by on-staff clinicians, years of healthcare exam experience and data. So, when evaluating testing services, be sure to ask how each company backs up their exams. If your nurses are worth testing, aren’t your providers?

Did we leave something unanswered? Please feel free to contact our Chief Nursing Officer, Jim Ostmann, Sr.