Recertification and Reentry to Practice for Nurse Anesthetists, Phase II: Evaluating Reentry to Anesthesia Practice Using High-Fidelity Simulation Technology

Background: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) who fail to comply with the Continued Professional Certification Program, or those out of practice for an extended time, must recertify with the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists through the Reentry Program (REP). In 2016, high-fidelity simulation was added to the REP to evaluate clinical competence. Purpose: The aim of this project was to create and validate a simulation scenario and competency checklist as an objective measure for use with the REP. Methods: Using the modified Delphi method, an expert panel of CRNAs evaluated the validity of the simulation scenario and the content validity and reliability of the checklist. Results: All 29 survey questions that assessed simulation scenario validity received ≥ 75% agreement from the expert panel, while the overall content validity index for the checklist was 0.958 and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.995. Conclusion: The expert panel validated the simulation scenario and competency checklist, which was determined to have excellent content validity and interrater reliability. Standardization and objectivity of the REP for CRNAs are improved with the validated simulation scenario and competency checklist.

Duke Scholars

Author Charles Andrew Vacchiano School of Nursing

Author James Franklin Titch School of Nursing

Author Virginia Chris Simmons School of Nursing