Receiving the Peg E. Daw NLN Certification Star Award was one of the proudest moments of my career. Working closely with Dr. Daw for many years, I was both thrilled and surprised to be nominated by Dr. Laura Schenk, Nurse Support Program II (NSP II) Grant Administrator and a respected colleague. I was surrounded by her and other Maryland nurse faculty that were at the awards ceremony to support me. The number of Maryland nurses that posed with me in a picture after the ceremony filled me with happiness. Although I'm not a nurse, I feel so welcomed by the group.

The effort to increase the number of certified nurse educators in Maryland began with the launch of the NSP II Certified Nurse Educator© (CNE) examination workshop, which is supported by a grant administered by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. In 2018, I attended the very first workshop and I have participated in all 18 sessions since then. I am honored to be associated with such a successful program.

You have played a pivotal role in increasing the number of certified nurse educators in Maryland. What inspired you to take on this initiative, and what has been the most rewarding part of this work?

As a former meeting planner, I enjoy the opportunity to plan the workshops from beginning to end. The most gratifying moment, or the "cherry on top of the sundae," is seeing nurse educators who have completed the workshop pass the CNE exam and obtain certification. Being part of such a long-standing and impactful statewide initiative has been both inspiring and immensely fulfilling.

Beyond Maryland, your work has the potential to serve as a model for other states. What advice would you give to other organizations looking to replicate this success?

The National League for Nursing (NLN) Certification is currently developing its fourth certification related to specific areas and roles of nurse educators. Current NLN certifications include the Academic Nurse Educator (CNE), Academic Clinical Nurse Educator (CNEcl), and Academic Novice Nurse Educator (CNEn). The new certification will focus on the Academic Practical/Vocational Nurse Educator (CNEpv). While it might seem that developing a new certification is a normal order of business for any credentialing department, it is a later step of a very rigorous process. Prior to any certification development, content area must be defined, refined, reviewed, and approved. This article will describe in general how competencies related to the role of the nurse educator are created and the subsequent creation of exam blueprints for certification.

How Competencies Are Identified

After determining the need for a deeper look into defining a specific nurse educator role, one of the first actions by the NLN is to identify and bring together a group of subject-matter experts. Those subject-matter experts then review current literature (peer-reviewed journal articles and grey literature) to determine what is known about the content area. A thematic analysis is done on the topic areas, which start the process of identifying specific core role concepts. Once the core role concepts are identified and agreed upon by the subject-matter experts, those core role concepts are refined into competency statements. Then those competency statements are further delineated into task statements by the subject-matter experts using the available evidence. 

After much deliberation by the subject-matter experts, the competencies and task statements are refined, resulting in a draft version that is sent to the NLN membership for feedback on the competencies and task statements as well as to rank the importance of the competencies to their roles as nurse educators. After the NLN membership review, the competencies and task statements are reviewed again by the same subject-matter expert group to determine if more revisions should be made. Once a final version of the new competencies and task statements is agreed upon by the subject-matter expert group, it is sent to the NLN Board of Directors for review and approval. Upon final approval from the NLN Board of Directors, the process shifts to creating a test plan from the competencies and the results of the validation practice analysis. This process is done in collaboration with psychometricians and follows best practices in test and certifications development. 

How Competencies Evolve

A validation practice analysis is conducted every five years to ensure that the certification exams remain aligned with the evolving role of nurse educators. The process begins with a panel of subject-matter experts who review and revise competencies to reflect current practice requirements. The proposed revisions are then distributed to all certification holders, who evaluate each competency and assign importance ratings based on their role as nurse educators. The practice analysis committee, in collaboration with a psychometrician, analyzes the survey results to finalize the competency domains and related task statements. These findings inform the development of the revised test plan, ensuring the exam accurately reflects the priorities of the nurse educator role.

Test Plan

The purpose of the test plan is to define the proportional representation of competency domains and related task statements on the certification exam. It reflects how NLN members prioritized each competency domain and task statement, with their ratings determining the percentage of exam items allocated to each domain and task statement. Higher-priority competency domains receive a greater percentage of exam items, indicating that nurse educators spend more time working in those areas. Conversely, lower-priority domains receive fewer exam items, reflecting less time spent in those competencies. The test plan further categorizes exam content based on Bloom’s taxonomy cognitive levels. For instance, the CNE and CNEcl exams assess recall, application, analysis, and evaluation skills, while the CNEn exam focuses on recall, application, and analysis. Adjustments to the test blueprint are guided by findings from the validation practice analysis survey, with the percentage of exam content for each competency domain determined by rankings from certification holders.

Setting a Passing Score

Each time the test plan is revised, a new passing score is established. The test development committee, in collaboration with a psychometrician, uses the Modified Angoff and Hofstee methods to determine a recommended passing score. This recommendation is then submitted to the NLN Board of Directors for review and approval.

Conclusion

The NLN takes great pride in recognizing nurse education as a specialized area of practice. Through the certification process, nurse educators can demonstrate their competency in this advanced role. NLN honors their achievement by awarding certification, signifying their expertise and commitment to excellence in nursing education.