title: Building a nursing activity database for processing free-text entry during computerized clinical simulation testing.
abstract: Computerized Clinical Simulation Testing is under research and development by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing for potential use as a component of the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. This interactive software permits the realistic assessment and management of client needs through free-text entry of requests for nursing activities, each of which elicit a response from the client. The efficiency and accuracy of system recognition of the free-text requests depends on the careful structuring of a comprehensive nursing activity database. This article describes and illustrates the processes and challenges encountered in building a system-compatible nursing activity database from a very unstructured, unstandardized nursing language.
authors.affiliation: National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bersky
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krawczak
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D009736:Nursing Process; D012985:Software Design; D014825:Vocabulary