Maternal-infant clinical nurse specialist performance assessment: reliability and validity of an evaluation tool

The Maternal-Infant Clinical Nurse Specialist Performance Evaluation Tool was used to evaluate the clinical performance of two classes of graduate students (n = 7, n = 4) enrolled in maternal-infant clinical practicums. When used by raters very familiar with the tool, i.e., those participating in its development, it yielded valid (.90) and reliable (.93) ratings of performance. When used by raters with limited familiarity with the tool, both validity and reliability declined but were still quite acceptable (.68 and .81, respectively). Better training for such raters should produce even more useful results. These results warrant continued cautious, monitored use of the tool in maternal-infant nursing. The generic content of the tool offers the possibility of its generalization to other specialties.