Development of a reliable and valid organization-specific professional practice assessment tool

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice Models
• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Professional Practice Models (PPMs) are crucial for nursing empowerment and care delivery.
• Existing assessments may not accurately reflect organization-specific PPMs and unit-level nurse involvement.
• A need exists for tailored tools to measure fidelity to organizational PPMs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To devise an organization-specific Professional Practice Model (PPM) assessment.
• To create a unit-based index for efficient comparative analysis of PPM implementation.
• To reflect actual unit involvement in the PPM.

Main Methods:

• Developed an instrument based on the 5 elements of the organization's PPM.
• Administered the instrument to a random sample of registered nurses in an academic Magnet hospital (2003, 2005).
• Calculated descriptive statistics and a weighted, unit-based index (scale of 100).

Main Results:

• Response rates were 51% (n=200) in 2003 and 48% (n=193) in 2005.
• Subscale and total PPM scores were calculated by summing item values.
• A unit-specific PPM index of performance was developed.

Conclusions:

• Generic instruments may not adequately assess fidelity to organization-specific PPMs.
• An organization-specific assessment provides evidence of PPM fidelity.
• This quantitative method supports continuous evolution of staff nurse decisional involvement.