Describing a new nursing specialty certification program for correctional nursing practice

1. Correctional Nursing
Establishing a Specialty Practice
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2. Objectives
• Describe the advances made in
establishing the specialty practice of
correctional nursing
• List components necessary in the
development of a nursing specialty
certification
• Outline progress thus far in establishing a
Correctional Nursing Specialty Certification
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3. Specialty Nursing Practice
• Emerged in late 70’s and early 80’s
• Factors
– Increasingly complex patient presentation
– Technologically sophisticated work
environment
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4. Nursing Certification
The formal recognition of the specialized
knowledge, skills, and experience
demonstrated by the achievement of
standards identified by a nursing specialty
to promote optimal health outcomes.
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5. Nursing Credentialing
• Licensure:
• Restrictive: Governmental requirement for practice
• Protects practice and title
• To protect public from incompetent practitioners
• Usually includes examination/assessment
• Certification:
• Voluntary: Non-governmental; not required for practice
• Recognizes individual’s advanced knowledge & skill
• To inform public that certified individuals have certain
degree of knowledge & skill
• Usually includes examination/assessment
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6. History of Correctional
Nursing
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7. Inmate Care before Reform
• Absence of Care
• Care by other inmates
• Care by officers
• Un-trained staff
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8. Civil Rights Movement
• Environment of Care
• Health Care Services
• Equal Care
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9. The Evolution of Correctional
Nursing
• Rena Murtha (1975)
• Estelle vs. Gamble (1976)
• American Medical Association
• National Commission on Correctional Health Care
• American Nurses Association
• Certified Correctional Health Professionals
• Academy of Correctional Health Professionals
• Correctional Nursing Specialty Certification Exam
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10. Professionalism in Practice
Recognition as a Nursing Specialty
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11. Why Another Examination?
• The scope of correctional nursing practice requires
competence in the application of specific principles and a
unique body of knowledge to the care of the
inmate/patient
• Therefore, practicing correctional nurses should be
afforded the opportunity to demonstrate competence in
the field and receive the appropriate recognition
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12. CCHP-N
• Certified Correctional Health Professional
– Nurse
• Registered Nurses who have
demonstrated, through the practice of
correctional nursing, a foundation of
knowledge that can be validated through a
recognized CCHP-N certification process
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13. CCHP-N
Eligibility
• Current CCHP certification
• Current, active RN license within a U.S. state or
territory or the professional, legally recognized
equivalent in another country, not restricted to
corrections only
• Equivalent of 2 years of full-time practice as a
registered nurse
• At least 2,000 hours of practice in a correctional
setting within the last 3 years
• 54 hours of continuing education in nursing – 18
hours specific to correctional healthcare within
the last 3 years
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14. CCHP – N
Recertification
• Annual recertification
• No additional fees; annual $75 fee will
include both basic and nursing certification
• CE requirements: 18 hours of nursing CE
with 6 specific to correctional health care
• Attestation that RN license is still in good
standing
• No retest required
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15. Why Become CCHP-N Certified
• Validation of Correctional Nursing
Practice Knowledge
• Attainment of a Professional Standard
• Recognition of Expertise
• Enhanced Personal Satisfaction
• Personal Accomplishment
• Increased Job Satisfaction
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16. Creating the CCHP – N
Certification Exam
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17. Certification Examination
Characteristics
• Appropriate: related to competencies
required for performance on the job or in
the profession
• Fair: provide opportunity for success; lack
of success means deficit in competence
• Accurate: valid (measure what it is
supposed to measure) and reliable
(measure it consistently)
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18. Components of Certification Exam
Development
• Test Content Outline Development
– Task Statement Development
• Job Analysis Survey Instrument
• Survey Administration and Analysis
– Validation of Test Content Outline
• Refine the Test Content Outline
• Determine Percentage Distribution of Questions across
Content Outline
• Identify Pre-requisites/Qualifications of Examinees
• Determine Re-certification Requirements
• Finalize Examination Format
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19. Certification Exam Development
Team
• Psychometrician Nurse Consultant
• Correctional Nurse Focus Group
– CCHP certified
– Many years correctional nursing experience
– Representing all practice settings
• Juvenile
• Jails
• Prisons
• County, State, Federal
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20. Test Content Outline
• Extent and organization of exam content
– facilitates candidate prep
– Guides item writing
• Based on job requirements
• Consists of KSAs delineated by job analysis
• Weighting of content areas delineated by job
analysis
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21. Job Analysis (Practice Analysis)
• Supports the content validity/job relatedness
of a certification exam
• Links exam content to the job
• Ensures accurate delineation of work, tasks,
and/or knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs)
required to perform the job
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22. Job Analysis Process
• Panel of subject matter experts (SMEs)
specify a content outline and relevant job
KSAs through a series of discussion, review,
and approval meetings/conference calls
• Approved KSAs assembled into a survey
format
• Job incumbents complete the survey by
rating the frequency and priority of each KSA
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23. Job Analysis
Sources of Job Information/Tasks
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
• NCCHC standards
• ANA standards
• Correctional health care policies and
procedures
• Correctional health care publications
(journals, books, on-line sources)
• Correctional nurse job descriptions
• Existing specialty nurse task lists
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24. Job Analysis: Phase I
Delineation of Job
• Objective catalogue of job descriptors or tasks
– Identifies things done on the job and abilities required
to complete tasks successfully
• Statement defines only a single work task
• Each task distinguishable from all others
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs):
– Define major job performance domains/categories &
initial delineation of tasks and KSAs
– Review and refine performance dimensions, tasks,
KSAs
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25. Job Analysis: Phase II
Validation Study
• Preparing task inventory
• Developing the sample
• Pilot-testing the task inventory
• Surveying job incumbents
• Collecting data
• Analyzing data and determining
weights for content outline areas
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26. Job Analysis: Example Survey
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27. Remaining Certification Exam
Development Components
• Test Content Outline Development
– Task Statement Development
• Job Analysis Survey Instrument
• Survey Administration and Analysis
– Validation of Test Content Outline
• Refine the Test Content Outline
• Determine Percentage Distribution of Questions across
Content Outline
• Identify Pre-requisites/Qualifications of Examinees
• Determine Re-certification Requirements
• Finalize Examination Format
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28. The Future of Correctional
Nursing
Evidenced Based Care
Research
Integration of Standards Specific to Nursing
Practice with NCCHC Standards
Council on Correctional Nursing
Centers of Excellence
Leadership
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29. Nursing Research
• The impact of nursing care delivery on patient
outcomes
• Measure care provided by nurses and the cost of
care
• Nursing care in terms of legal litigation
• Role of nursing in promoting continuity of care
• The nurse’s role in managing chronic disease
• Levels of nursing practice in correctional settings
• The benefit of nursing leadership to care delivery
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30. Integration of Nursing Standards
• National Commission on Correctional
Health Care
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31. Centers of Excellence
Nationally Recognized
Correctional Health Facilities
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32. Council on Correctional Nursing
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33. Thank You!
For more on the specialty practice of
Correctional Nursing be sure to attend the
following session
The ANA Scope and Standard of Practice
for Correctional Nursing
2:30pm - 4:00pm Today
This Room
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