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Regulation Matters 2019 - Issue 1

The Jurisprudence Knowledge and Assessment Tool

What's the Buzz

Every member completes the JKAT within the first year of registration and every five years. Within the JKAT there is the option to provide feedback on the questions. Every year before the launch of the JKAT, we review all the feedback for every question. The feedback is considered in the subsequent item writing sessions to ensure clarity in the questions.

In 2018, we developed and piloted 20 new JKAT questions. A complete psychometric analysis of the performance of those questions was completed. We examined whether each question was too difficult, too easy or too vague. The results were positive and only two of the 20 questions scored below the threshold set. These questions were removed from the 2019 JKAT until they are rewritten.

JKAT Q & As

Here are some typical questions we receive from members about the JKAT. We added these new questions to the JKAT FAQs , which are accessible on the College website.
Why do I have to write the JKAT more than once?
Like everything else, the laws and standards may change, or new standards may be enacted. For example, 11 years ago when the JKAT was initiated, would we ever have thought scenarios related to social media and dietetic practice would be important? Or about the dietitian’s role in medically assistance in dying (MAID). The JKAT is updated regularly to make sure dietitians have the knowledge of all applicable laws, regulations and standards they need to practice competently and safely.
My practice is in population health or management, why do I have scenarios related to patient care?
The scenarios provide the backdrop to illustrate the application of the laws, regulations or standards: the practice area is less important. In the three versions of the JKAT, everyone answers a fixed number of core questions with questions added for patient care and private practice versions.  There are 70 questions in each version.
The questions do not provide enough detail to answer the question. Why is that?
Don’t overthink the question. Answer the question that is asked. Sometimes you think details are missing because as an experienced professional, we often think, "what if?" 

The questions are not designed to trick you but to provide enough detail to answer the question asked. Like all multiple-choice exams with four options, there are clearly two wrong answers (distractors) and two answers where you need to decide the right answer.

Question (item) writing is a painstaking process. Trained item writers meet biannually to review the questions, write new ones and rewrite questions which need tweaks.
When I open the reference, why doesn’t it take me right to the answer?
The reference will take you to the section which applies to the question. Some reading is required to provide context to the issue being discussed.
I wrote down the option I chose for each question, in case I failed the first time. Now, when I go in to the JKAT, the right answer is in a different place. Why?
With every attempt of the JKAT, the answers are scrambled so now the right answer could be in position “c” instead of “a”.  If you are completing the JKAT on a second or third attempt, read the question and the answers carefully to make sure you choose the correct answer.
 
If you must make a second or third attempt at achieving 90% in the JKAT, you will be given some new questions along with the questions you got wrong. The questions you got right will prepopulate as answered. You will not have to answer all the questions again.