Instrument Development for Evaluation of Gerontological Nurse Specialists Core Competencies in China. Issue 5 (September 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Hongxiu; Pu, Lihui; Chen, Qian; Xu, Xiaofeng; Bai, Chunlan; Hu, Xiuying
• Is Part Of: Clinical nurse specialist. Volume 33:Issue 5(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-09
• Subjects: competency evaluation -- nurse specialist -- older adults -- reliability -- validity; Nurse practitioners -- United States -- Periodicals; Nursing -- Practice -- Periodicals; 610.7305
• DOI: 10.1097/NUR.0000000000000469
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0887-6274

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: This study aimed to determine the core competencies of Chinese gerontological nurse specialists and test the psychometric properties of a core competency self-evaluation instrument. Methods: This study consisted of 2 stages. A literature review, theoretical analysis, and the Delphi methods involving 28 experts were performed to identify the core competencies required of gerontological nurse specialists in China. Then, a self-evaluation instrument developed based on the results of stage I was tested among 225 certified gerontological nurse specialists. An exploratory factor analysis was applied to test the construct validity, and the content validity and reliability were also evaluated. Results: The core competencies of gerontological nurse specialists comprised 3 first-level domains, 9 second-level dimensions, and 69 third-level items. The average scale-level content validity, overall instrument's Cronbach's α, and test-retest reliability were 0.963, 0.983, and 0.834, respectively. The results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the factors in the 3 first-level domains (attitude, skill, and knowledge) explained 68.579%, 69.599%, and 75.872% of the variance, respectively. Conclusion: The results showed that the core competencies of Chinese gerontological nurse specialists were reliable and that gerontological nurse specialists could use this self-evaluation instrument to assess their core competencies. Abstract : Supplemental digital content is available in the text.