Professional Practice Analysis: Determining Job Relatedness of the Certification Examination for Nurse Anesthetists

This article presents the results of the 2011 professional practice analysis (PPA) for the field of nurse anesthesia conducted by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists. The PPA used survey and rating scale methodologies to collect data regarding the relative emphasis on various aspects of the nurse anesthesia knowledge domain and competencies. Overall, 9,000 survey responses were analyzed by a panel consisting of individuals possessing expertise in clinical anesthesia and testing methodology, using conventional statistics and the Rasch rating scale model. Descriptions of how the survey results were used to develop test specifications are also provided. The results of this analysis provide validity evidence for the content outline and test specifications (content percentages) and thus serve as a basis of content validation for the National Certification Examination.