Psychometric analysis of an instrument to assess nurse leadership

Abstract

The purposes of this study are twofold. The first is to revise an instrument that assesses nurse-leadership competencies and perform a content validity of such instrument. Secondly, this study will psychometrically examine the instrument and see if the instrument shows validity through a factor analysis. Nursing leadership is paramount in the complex healthcare system that is in place today. Patients have higher acuity, and nurses require a greater knowledge base to care for such patients. Nurse leaders need competency-based education and training to care for higher-acuity patients. Research exists verifying that effective nursing leadership helps promote better patient outcomes, but there is not an instrument available, created by nurses for nurses, to assess the competencies needed to be an effective leader. A nurse-leadership-competency checklist for critical-care nurses was revised into an instrument that could be used by all nurses for leadership competency. Content validity assessment was performed on this revised instrument through a panel of three judges. All items scored an I-CVI of 1.00 concluding that this instrument had validity. Once content validity was completed, the instrument was put into a Likert Scale format and emailed to 128 registered nurses from two western states. Fifty registered nurses from these two western states responded to the survey. Respondents were required to rate the importance of each factor listed on the survey. These results were analyzed using SPSS version 22 through a factor analysis. The results indicate that the instrument is a reliable tool to assess nurse leadership. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.992. With a Cronbach's alpha being this high, the instrument can have item reduction and still produce good results. This instrument, with further revision and testing, could be instrumental for competency-based leadership skills for nurses.