National Licensure Exam for Brazilian Nurses: why and for whom?

• Published in: Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem Vol. 71; no. suppl 4; pp. 1692 - 1699
• Main Authors: Silva, Kênia Lara da, Cabral, Ivone Evangelista
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem 2018
• Subjects: Brazil; Clinical Competence - standards; Clinical Competence - statistics & numerical data; Councils; Distance learning; Educational Measurement - methods; Educational Measurement - standards; Humans; Internet; Licenses; Licensure, Nursing - standards; Licensure, Nursing - statistics & numerical data; Nurses; Nursing Education; Professional Practice; Professional Skills; Professional Training; Qualitative Research; Registration; Regulation; Reproducibility of Results; Science; Students, Nursing - psychology; Students, Nursing - statistics & numerical data; Success; Surveys and Questionnaires; Brazil; United States > US
• ISSN: 0034-7167; 1984-0446; 1984-0446
• DOI: 10.1590/0034-7167-2017-0929

To analyze critically the reasons for regulating a National Licensure Exam for Brazilian Nurses (NLEXB-N). Qualitative study with secondary source applying the critical discourse analysis to situate context and intertextuality in the establishment of a new social practice. We analyzed data from legal documents regulating the National Licensure Exam of other professions in Brazil, the Educational Census, the Survey of Brazilian Nursing Profile and global nursing literature. Four themes were explored: Brazilian experiences with this exam; nursing experiences in other countries; effects of the exam on the examinees; NLEXB-N in Brazil: what purposes could we present? The National Licensure Exam for Brazilian Nurses is a measure of individual accountability that increases social injustice, inequality and inequity. We must pay attention to the consequences of its application, based on evidences produced in the area.