NCSBN Celebrates 40th Anniversary in 2018

NCSBN observed its 40th anniversary in 2018. As 2016-2018 NCSBN Board of Directors President Katherine Thomas, MN, RN, FAAN, executive director, Texas Board of Nursing remarked, “This year we celebrated 40 years of regulatory excellence and anticipate a future of transforming nursing regulation and embracing innovations to further our mission of public protection.”

Throughout its 40-year history, NCSBN has been a groundbreaker. Some of its many accomplishments include:

• Being the first organization to implement computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for nationwide licensure examination in 1994. Since then, more than 5 million candidates for nurse licensure have taken the NCLEX Examination via CAT.
• In 2014, the NCLEX-RN Examination became the licensure/registration exam for Canadian nurses (for all provinces except for Quebec), marking the first time that the test was utilized for the purpose of licensure in another country.
• Conducting the landmark, award-winning, multisite National Simulation Study examining the use of simulation in prelicensure nursing programs.
• Nursing regulatory bodies were the first health care providers to develop a model for interstate practice with the original adoption of the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) in 1997 and its implementation in 2000.

NCSBN CEO David Benton, RGN, PhD, FFNF, FRCN, FAAN, noted, “Forty years is a major milestone. It is a time to reflect, a time to celebrate but also a time to look to the future. 2018 was the year where we looked to build on our successes, learn from our failures and recommit to advancing public safety and regulatory excellence as we move forward.”