title: Reliability and validity of critical care orientation tests.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of the multiple choice orientation tests used in one critical care unit. A criterion-referenced measurement framework was used to develop 10 orientation tests covering five content areas, two tests for each content area. A sample of 40 critical care nurses (CCNS) and 31 medical-surgical nurses completed the tests. Standard reliability and validity measures were performed including: test-retest, parallel forms, construct and decision validity and item analysis. Parallel form correlations ranged from .46 to .90 (P < .05). Test-retest correlations ranged from .56 to .93 (P < .01). A significant (P < .01) difference was found between the scores of the critical care nurses and medical-surgical nurses for nine of the tests. Reliability and validity were supported for the tests. This study identifies one process that can be used in test development.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Recker
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results