Nurses Notes

The NCSBN Board of Directors voted to raise the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination at its meeting on Dec. 10, 2009

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Media Contact: Dawn M. Kappel
Director, Marketing and Communications
312.525.3667 direct
312.279.1034 fax
dkappel@ncsbn.org
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CHICAGO – The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) voted on Dec. 10, 2009, to raise the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination (the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses). The new passing standard is -0.16 logits on the NCLEX-RN logistic scale, 0.05 logits higher than the previous standard of -0.21. The new passing standard will take effect on April 1, 2010, in conjunction with the 2010 NCLEX-RN Test Plan.
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After consideration of all available information, the NCSBN Board of Directors determined that safe and effective entry-level RN practice requires a greater level of knowledge, skills, and abilities than was required in 2007, when NCSBN implemented the current standard. The passing standard was increased in response to changes in U.S. health care delivery and nursing practice that have resulted in the greater acuity of clients seen by entry-level RNs.
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The Board of Directors used multiple sources of information to guide its evaluation and discussion regarding the change in passing standard. As part of this process, NCSBN convened an expert panel of nine nurses to perform a criterion-referenced standard setting procedure. The panel’s findings supported the creation of a higher passing standard. NCSBN also considered the results of national surveys of nursing professionals including nursing educators, directors of nursing in acute care settings and administrators of long-term care facilities.
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In accordance with a motion adopted by the 1989 NCSBN Delegate Assembly, the NCSBN Board of Directors evaluates the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN examination every three years to protect the public by ensuring minimal competence for entry-level RNs. NCSBN coordinates the passing standard analysis with the three-year cycle of test plan evaluation.  This three-year cycle was developed to keep the test plan and passing standard current. A PDF of the 2010 NCLEX-RN Test Plan is available free of charge from the NCSBN Web site https://www.ncsbn.org/2010_NCLEX_RN_TestPlan.pdf.
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The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is a not-for-profit organization whose members include the boards of nursing in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories — American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. There are also four associate members.

Mission: The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), composed of Member Boards, provides leadership to advance regulatory excellence for public protection.
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Media inquiries may be directed to the contact listed above. Technical inquiries about the NCLEX examination may be directed to the NCLEX information line at 1.866.293.9600 or nclexinfo@ncsbn.org.
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The definition of a logit may be found on NCSBN’s Web site at https://www.ncsbn.org/02_18_05_brief.pdf.

In response to the e-mails that we have received regarding HIV and since it is a rising issue and point of argument every February, we have decided to republish this fact sheet that’s originally prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to correct a few misperceptions about HIV.

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Research has revealed a great deal of valuable medical, scientific, and public health information about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The ways in which HIV can be transmitted have been clearly identified. Unfortunately, false information or statements that are not supported by scientific findings continue to be shared widely through the Internet or popular press.

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How HIV Is Transmitted

HIV is spread by sexual contact with an infected person, by sharing needles and/or syringes (primarily for drug injection) with someone who is infected, or, less commonly (and now very rarely in countries where blood is screened for HIV antibodies), through transfusions of infected blood or blood clotting factors. Babies born to HIV-infected women may become infected before or during birth or through breastfeeding after birth.

In the health care setting, workers have been infected with HIV after being stuck with needles containing HIV-infected blood or, less frequently, after infected blood gets into a worker’s open cut or a mucous membrane (for example, the eyes or inside of the nose). There has been only one instance of patients being infected by a health care worker in the United States; this involved HIV transmission from one infected dentist to six patients. Investigations have been completed involving more than 22,000 patients of 63 HIV-infected physicians, surgeons, and dentists, and no other cases of this type of transmission have been identified in the United States.

Some people fear that HIV might be transmitted in other ways; however, no scientific evidence to support any of these fears has been found. If HIV were being transmitted through other routes (such as through air, water, or insects), the pattern of reported AIDS cases would be much different from what has been observed. For example, if mosquitoes could transmit HIV infection, many more young children and preadolescents would have been diagnosed with AIDS.

All reported cases suggesting new or potentially unknown routes of transmission are thoroughly investigated by state and local health departments with the assistance, guidance, and laboratory support from CDC. No additional routes of transmission have been recorded, despite a national sentinel system designed to detect just such an occurrence.

The following paragraphs specifically address some of the common misperceptions about HIV transmission.

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HIV in the Environment

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The National Council Licensure Examination for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN®) measures the knowledge and abilities necessary for entry level nurses. Competency and knowledge needs to be tested because we deal with lives and it is necessary before we work on any hospital legally. It is administered by Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT), which individualizes tests to match the unique competencies of each test taker. Each exam adheres to the NCLEX-RN® Test Plan, which describes the content and scope of RN competencies. The practices basic to nursing (e.g., nursing process, caring, teaching, learning, communication, documentation) are integrated throughout, and most questions require application and analysis of information.

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Taking the NCLEX-RN® Test on a Computer
■ First: You will receive general information about the exam and the testing center. Your time spent on this will not count.
■ Second: You will take a tutorial on how to use the computer to answer the questions on NCLEX-RN®. Your answers will not count toward your score, but the time you take will be subtracted from the total 6 hours you have for the exam.
■ Third: You will then be presented with real NCLEX-RN® items; there will be between 75 and 265 items. The test ends when it is 95% certain your ability is ↑ or ↓ the passing standard.

■ Answers may be selected or deleted several times if desired before confirming a final answer. You must answer every question. You cannot return to a previous question though.
■ A time-remaining clock is in the screen’s upper right-hand corner which you can hide if it causes anxiety. But clock timer would remain and cannot be hidden in the last 15 minutes of your 6-hour exam time.
■ A calculator on the computer is available for calculations.

■ Try not to wear any type of jewelry or charms on your day of examination because you will be asked to remove them. No earring, necklace, bracelet, watch would be allowed. If you insist not to remove your wedding ring, the testing center might allow you but a report on your Board of Nursing will be sent regarding this matter even after a tight inspection.

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Go to www.NCSBN.org to access an NCLEX tutorial to practice multiple choice and alternate format items on the computer.

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Good luck on your examination and we wish you all the best!

Nurses Notes

Your Source. Your Guide.

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Are you dreaming of becoming a Project Manager someday? If you are, then you have to prepare as early as now because you may have to take the  Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. If you wonder what that exam is, the  PMP Exam is managed and offered by The Project Management Institute (PMI). Yes, you can probably find a work without undergoing that exam, but to get noticed, get a good job, outshine and outsmart the rest and get a good pay, a PMP certification from that Institute is an advantage. With the number of population that we have now, competition is tight and we gotta prove that we have the edge and we are better than the rest. PrepCast will actually help you pass the exam by undergoing and taking their 40-hour video course which you can actually download through your iPods or any video players so it would be easier for you because you can set your own time to study, anytime, anywhere.

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