The Prevalence of Multiple-Choice Testing in Registered Nurse Licensure-Qualifying Nursing Education Programs in New York State.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe nurse educators' use of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in testing in registered nurse licensure-qualifying nursing education programs in New York State. METHOD: This study was a descriptive correlational analysis of data obtained from surveying 1,559 nurse educators; 297 educators from 61 institutions responded (response rate [RR] = 19 percent), yielding a final cohort of 200. RESULTS: MCQs were reported to comprise a mean of 81 percent of questions on a typical test. Baccalaureate program respondents were equally likely to use MCQs as associate degree program respondents (p > .05) but were more likely to report using other methods of assessing student achievement to construct course grades (p < .01). Both groups reported little use of alternate format-type questions. CONCLUSION: Respondent educators reported substantial reliance upon the use of MCQs, corroborating the limited data quantifying the prevalence of use of MCQ tests in licensure-qualifying nursing education programs.

Registered Nurses as Professionals, Advocates, Innovators, and Collaborative Leaders: Executive Summary

This article concludes a series that described work completed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) Barriers to RN Scope of Practice Professional Issues Panel (Panel). The Panel has summarized the roles of the registered nurse (RN) as professional, advocate, innovator, and collaborative leader. As professionals, RNs are accountable for their own educational development, growth of their own practice, and execution of their own professional role. As advocates, RNs provide direct and indirect care focused on the achievement of optimal health. As innovators, RNs act as agents of change in driving processes and policy and leveraging technology. As collaborative leaders, RNs lead within the professional practice setting with state-specific nurse practice acts, a defined scope of practice, and nurse-led initiatives. In this article, Panel members describe their methodology, offer role definitions and recommendations, and provide individual recommendations for RNs to remove barriers and practice to the full extent of their scope of practice. We conclude with some future considerations.

Registered Nurses as Professionals: Accountability for Education and Practice

This article explores the theme that, as professionals, all registered nurses (RNs) are accountable for their own educational development and execution of their individual professional role. To assure that RNs perform to the full scope of their practice and impact the highest possible patient outcomes, a standardized educational preparation of RNs at the BSN level is essential, either through initial education or educational progression. The authors support the need for BSN preparation with a brief review of research to identify seminal works that demonstrate the added value, both economically and in terms of patient outcomes, that results when higher percentages of BSN-prepared RNs provide care. They also discuss RN accountability for educational progression and barriers to earning the BSN. The article summary offers recommendations and action steps to support BSN education and promote RN full scope of practice.

Advancing the education of nurses: a call for action.

The debate over the educational preparation of RNs has raged for over a century. In New York, chief nursing officers are partnering with academic colleagues and successfully implementing a model that standardizes education requirements, supports seamless transition from associate to baccalaureate degree programs, addresses financial barriers, and identifies expected outcomes of a more educated workforce. Nursing leaders are perfectly positioned to advance the educational standards of the profession in the United States.