Within the next 3-5 years, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) will be assessing the concept of Nursing Clinical Judgement when nursing students take the NCLEX. This shift in the test plan seeks to address concerns related to patient safety. Specifically, 50% of novice nurses made errors in their first year of practice while 20% of employers felt that new nurses were not prepared. Using the Nursing Clinical Judgement Model developed by the NCSBN, this presentation will explore the six iterative processes and offer specific teaching strategies to reinforce Nursing Clinical Judgment. Clinical knowledge does not equal clinical judgement! We must incorporate active learning strategizes to engage our students and get them to think instead of memorize!
Methods: We will briefly introduce creative strategies to improve critical thinking in the classroom (think: Escape rooms, avatars, and gaming). Next, we will take the learner through the process of integrating test items that assess Nursing Clinical Judgement. Although this case study is medical/surgical in nature, these strategies can be applied to any area of nursing practice. After a brief introduction of high impact learning strategies, a case-study format series of questions will be introduced using four new test item types to measure Nursing Clinical Judgment. Specific strategies will be offered related to test-item construction. Although there are many types of test items to assess Nursing Clinical Judgement, this presentation will focus on four: extended multiple response, constructed responses, extended drag and drop, and CLOZE. We will specifically describe how to create each of the four test item types.
Results: While introducing the medical/surgical case study, ask your students to highlight key pieces of information in the scenario. Interactive technology to enhance student learning will also be briefly introduced. To optimize the learning environment, students should be randomly assigned to small groups (3-5 students) and a Team-Based learning format should be used. Creating a fun and competitive environment keeps students engaged.
Conclusion: Next Generation NCLEX will be here before we know it! One of the most important things we can do as educators is to start incorporating test items and high impact practices that measure nursing clinical judgement. NextGen is coming……..Are you ready?