Presenters:
Jeanne Sinclair, Ryan Ji
Authors:
Jeanne Sinclair, Ryan Ji, Khairrunnissa Rhemtulla, Rita Parikh
Poster Abstract:
Since 2017, the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives has operated the Nursing Community Assessment Service (NCAS) for nurses and care aides seeking licensure in Canada. NCAS produces a multidimensional score report that helps regulators decide candidates’ most appropriate educational pathways. NCAS recently received funding from the BC Ministry of Municipal Affairs to streamline the assessment of internationally educated nurses (IENs) by assessing their competencies in three roles at once: health care assistant (HCA), practical nurse, and registered nurse.
The present validation study focuses on one component of this initiative: NCAS’s new HCA assessment. HCAs typically work under the supervision of a nurse, and they provide up to 80% of direct care to older Canadians living at home or in long term care (CACHWR, 2013). Near-term job growth for HCAs is anticipated to be substantial, and an HCA shortage is anticipated in coming years (Government of Canada, 2021). Yet, the HCA scope remains ill-defined across settings (Hewko et al., 2015), and HCA practice is only partially regulated.
Using the AERA/APA/NCME Standards, we developed the HCA assessment with attention to four sources of validity evidence: content, response processes, internal structure, and consequences. Our focus is the evidence and analyses employed to 1) ensure adequate assessment of 45 entry-level HCA competencies, and 2) operationalize key competencies to assess relevant skills as well as candidates’ understanding of the HCA scope. Our findings highlight the benefits of evidence-based validation for health care roles that may differ across employment settings.
Keywords: Health care assistant, competency assessment, validation
References:
- American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (Eds.). (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. American Educational Research Association.
- B.C. Care Aide & Community Health Worker Registry (CACHWR). (2013). Educators. Available online at https://www.cachwr.bc.ca/Educators.aspx.
- Hewko, S. J., Cooper, S. L., Huynh, H., Spiwek, T. L., Carleton, H. L., Reid, S., & Cummings, G. G. (2015). Invisible no more: a scoping review of the health care aide workforce literature. BMC nursing, 14(1), 1-17.
- Government of Canada. (2021). Job Bank Canada – Health Care Aide in British Columbia. Available online at https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/outlook-occupation/18329/BC;jsessionid=A7D9F4FC2EBC44D4019E41D9A39C7755.jobsearch76
