Council on Certification Professional Practice Analysis

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Anesthesia
• Professional Certification

Background:

• The Certified Clinical Nurse Anesthetists (CCNA) certification examination content must accurately reflect current entry-level nurse anesthesia practice.
• A Practice Analysis (PPA) was conducted to ensure content validity of the examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform a Practice Analysis (PPA) for content validation of the CCNA certification examination.
• To revise the examination content outline and question distribution to align with current entry-level nurse anesthesia practice.

Main Methods:

• A PPA was conducted involving surveys of practicing nurse anesthetists.
• Analysis of survey responses informed changes to the examination content outline and question weighting.

Main Results:

• The PPA provided content validation for the CCNA certification examination.
• The examination content outline and question percentages were revised to reflect current entry-level practice.
• Practitioner surveys showed agreement on essential knowledge and skills for entry-level Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs).

Conclusions:

• The revised examination content outline is based on major domains of knowledge for nurse anesthesia practice.
• The CCNA is committed to maintaining the integrity of the certification process through ongoing validation and updates.