Does licensure restrict entry fairly, or does it serve as a discriminatory barrier for minorities? The use of the concept of adverse impact, a legally mandated, quantitative tool to assess selection procedures, is a useful mechanism to make such determinations. The results of a study in Michigan of the nursing examination for licensure show how adverse impact may be used. The implications of the outcome of the adverse impact study weigh heavily not only on the nursing examination but also on the use of such tools in other health professions.
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