Development and Preliminary Testing of the Nursing Competency Scale in Simulation for Nursing Students / 한국간호교육학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Nursing Competency Scale in Simulation (NCSS) for nursing students. METHODS: A preliminary version of the NCSS of 14 items was derived from the literature. A panel of seven experts reviewed the preliminary version for content validation and developed 15 items scale. A convenient sample of 195 nursing students completed the survey and two evaluators measured the performances of nine teams in a simulation scenario with NCSS. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-test and Cronbach's alpha. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used in order to estimate the degree of inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that two factor structures of the NCSS explained 51.1% of the total variance. Two factors were named psychosocial skills and cognitive and psychomotor skills. The mean scores of NCSS between third and 4th grade were significantly different providing support for its known-group validity. Cronbach's alpha was .90 and ranged from .79 to .88. The overall ICC for inter-rater agreement was 0.89 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.98). CONCLUSION: This scale shows preliminary evidence for validity and reliability. It could be a useful instrument for measuring learning outcome in simulation for nursing students' clinical competency.