Development and validation of a new tool measuring nurses self-reported professional competence—The nurse professional competence (NPC) Scale

SummaryObjectives elop and validate a new tool intended for measuring self-reported professional competence among both nurse students prior to graduation and among practicing nurses. The new tool is based on formal competence requirements from the Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, which in turn are based on WHO guidelines. odological study including construction of a new scale and evaluation of its psychometric properties. ipants and settings ewly graduated nurse students from 11 universities/university colleges. s alyses resulted in a scale named the NPC (Nurse Professional Competence) Scale, consisting of 88 items and covering eight factors: “Nursing care”, “Value-based nursing care”, “Medical/technical care”, “Teaching/learning and support”, “Documentation and information technology”, “Legislation in nursing and safety planning”, “Leadership in and development of nursing care” and “Education and supervision of staff/students”. All factors achieved Cronbachʹs alpha values greater than 0.70. A second-order exploratory analysis resulted in two main themes: “Patient-related nursing” and “Nursing care organisation and development”. In addition, evidence of known-group validity for the NPC Scale was obtained. sions C Scale, which is based on national and international professional competence requirements for nurses, was comprehensively tested and showed satisfactory psychometrical properties. It can e.g. be used to evaluate the outcomes of nursing education programmes, to assess nursesʹ professional competences in relation to the needs in healthcare organisations, and to tailor introduction programmes for newly employed nurses.