Kiyan McCormick, a second-year graduate student in Southern University and A&M College's School of Nursing, was selected as one of six panelists from throughout the nation to serve on the item review panel for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses and the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses.

The selection was made by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.

The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN are the two licensure examinations that all nurses must pass to receive their licenses. The tests measure entry-level nursing competence of candidates for licensure as registered nurses and as licensed practical and vocational nurses.

McCormick met with the panel January 12-15 in Chicago and participated in recommending potential NCLEX passing standards to the NCSBN Board of Directors.

McCormick was selected for the panel after initially applying through the Louisiana State Board of Nursing.

"I was overwhelmed with excitement and honored when I found out that I had been selected to for the panel," said McCormick. "I felt very fortunate to be a part of an organization which maintains high standards in nursing and measures nursing competence for entry-level nurses."

McCormick said she gained a better understanding of how to develop test items for pre-license nursing from her experience on the panel.

"I learned the importance of writing test questions for pre-license exams and about the different aspects of nursing and the best practices in nursing core principles of developing test questions for different levels of nursing," said McCormick.

After McCormick receives her master's degree in May, she plans to pursue a doctorate in nursing education from Southern's School of Nursing.