Delphi Study on Introduction of Practical Skills Test in National Examination for Nursing Licensure

Lim, Nan Young; Song, Jung Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the plan to introduce a practical skills test as part of the national examination for nursing licensure. METHOD: The delphi method was used. The first set of data was collected by open questionnaire from universities and hospitals nationally. The second and third were collected by structured questionnaire.
RESULTS
The biggest problem for clinical practice in nursing education was reported as the lack of opportunities for direct nursing practice. The biggest performance problem in job duties for novice nurses was reported as the lack of integrated problem solving skills in a clinical situation. The biggest problem with the current national examination was reported as the use memorizing solutions to test questions. It was suggested that the best plan to resolve problems with the national examination would be to develop test questions representative of the clinical setting and increase personnel in clinical education. About the introduction of a practical skills test as part of the national examination, 56.9% were in agreement and 38.5% disagreed.
CONCLUSION
The current national examination has many problems when it comes to testing clinical competency. So, a practical skills test must be deferred to a future time. There are also many difficulties in presenting a real situation, therefore further research is needed in preparation for the introduction of a practical skills test.