Preferred Citation

University of Virginia School of Nursing, Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, The National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses Collection.

Biographical / Historical

The Pediatric Nursing Certification Board National Board (PNCB) was originally incorporated in 1975 as the National Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Associates (NBPNP/A), soon became the National Certification Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Nurses (NCBPNPN) and in 2003, became the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board National Board. The organization's leading purpose was to "foster the delivery of the highest quality of health care to children and their families through the certification of pediatric nursing professionals." The NCBPNPN offered the first National Qualifying Examination for PNP certification in 1977, implemented a recertification program beginning in 1980 and developed the General Pediatric Nursing exam which was implemented in 1989. From 1975, onward, NCBPNPN has served its purpose by establishing standards of competence, recognizing achievement and specialty knowledge, developing programs for maintaining certification, and establishing scope of practice and standards of care for the PNP and GPN.

Scope and Contents

The administrative records are primarily composed of board papers; minutes, bylaws, memos, notes, correspondence, proposals, financial statements and voting records. Drafts and final versions of examinations, job descriptions, program outlines for outside organizations, individual correspondence and survey results supplement the board materials to create a significantly detailed record of the organization. The balance of the collection is examination materials.  There are three main tests: the General Pediatric Nurse (GPN) Examination, the Self-Assessment Examination, and the National Qualifying Exam (NQE). Materials related to these tests include: correspondence of specific committees for question review, the organization and planning for each test, the test writer's correspondence and assignments, the examination booklets themselves, table data, statistical data and reports from test Proctors, administrators and Program Directors Reports and finally, publications regarding the publicity and promotion of the tests.

Arrangement

This collection consists of 30 boxes and one oversized box containing the organizational papers of the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board National Board. The collection has two main areas of focus, administrative records and examination materials.

Box 1 contains PNP/A Content Specification Statements for the General Nurse Practitioner Exam, including categories and specific principles and techniques to be covered in the exam and test objectives. Also included are 1565 objectives, of the CSS list for the General Nurse Practitioner Exam, and the exam Proctor's Manuals (1989-1992), the correspondence from the first item review and the 2nd item review committee, and concluding with the statistics, tables and scores for the General Nurse Practitioner Exam (1989 and 1990).

Box 2 is about the General Pediatric Nursing Certification Examination. It contains informational publications and form letters. It also has examination booklets (A and B) for years 1991 and 1992. There is a comprehensive amount of correspondence from committee members and AD Hoc questionnaire writers regarding assignments. Also contained are tables, scores, statistics and reports.

Box 3 of this collection is concerned with the Self-Assessment Exercise and Critiques Examination from 1981 to 1991. It contains the booklets, the statistics and print keys for those years. It also has the exam rosters, information hand outs, and classification and content grids. The collection concludes with the failing items report for 1979 - 1981 and the answer sheets for 1990 -1991 exam.

Box 4 holds information about the Self-Assessment Exercise and Critiques Examination which includes comprehensive correspondence from committee members and others regarding the objectives, first item review and assignments for question writing from 1982-1990. Integral to this collection are the Self-Assessment objectives completed forms and summary grid for coding

Box 5 contains directories from various committees and Ad Hoc writers in this collection and correspondence from specific organizations such as the American Board of Pediatrics regarding the 1st Item Review of the Self- Assessment Examination Committee from 1993-1994 and the 2nd Item Review from 1984-1993. Also included are drafts, revisions and a final camera ready copy of the Self Assessment Exercise and Critiques and correspondence. The box concludes with the General Pediatric Nursing Certification Examination including booklets, print keys and Proctor's Manuals.

Box 6 begins with seven folders of correspondence from the National Qualifying Examination committee that spans from 1976 to 1984. The last three folders are "Instructions for Developing Multiple-Choice Questions" booklets prepared by The American Board of Pediatrics, for the National Board f Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Association from 1984 to 1992.

Box 7 begins with Content Specification Statements for the National Qualifying Examination set by the PNPA. Next are the Content Validation Survey, form letters, and results. Folders 7, 8 and 9 are Committee correspondence for 1st Item Review, 2nd Item Review and Final Item Review from approximately 1983-1992. The final folder contains the minutes from committee meetings, correspondence and reports from the National Committee for the Promotion of the Quality of Specialty Nursing Practice

Box 8 contains the National Qualifying Examination test booklets (A and B) from 1977 to 1992 and their corresponding print key (or answers). The box concludes with the test Chief Proctor manuals.

Box 9 contains the National Qualifying Examination statistical data from 1977 to 1989. Also represented for those years are the failing item reports, description of examinee populations, cutting scores, reports and correspondence regarding statistical information.

Box 10 is a continuation of previous box for statistical information regarding National Qualifying Examination. This box contains the cutting scores, examination of applicants, test values and value labels from 1990 to 1992. Folder three begins an in-depth analysis that includes examinee populations, candidate evaluations, statistical information, and such items as performance and final reports from 1977 and 1978.

Box 11 has The National Qualifying Examination papers and various reports including the performance reports, table reports, test administrator reports and the Program Director's reports from 1980 to 1992. It also includes the test Proctor's response forms (1986-1989).

Box 12 contains the test center information for the National Qualifying Examination from 1982-1989. The last four folders hold publicity planning and objectives for the National Qualifying Examination which includes ads, pamphlets and correspondence from 1978 - 1981.

Box 13 finishes out the National Qualifying Examination publicity publications which include pamphlets ads and brochures and the National Board of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Associates: Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certification and Certification Maintenance Program booklets from 1983-1995.

Box 14 is an oversized box containing sheets of statistical data from the Self-Assessment Examination for the NPN/A from 1985-1992.