Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Using Learning Outcome Measures to assess Doctoral Nursing Education
Published on: June 21, 2010
Nursing intellectual capital theory: operationalization and empirical validation of concepts
Christine L Covell1, Souraya Sidani
1Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Gender and Health, Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. christine.covell@uottawa.ca
Aims:
To present the operationalization of concepts in the nursing intellectual capital theory and the results of a methodological study aimed at empirically validating the concepts.
Background:
The nursing intellectual capital theory proposes that the stocks of nursing knowledge in an organization are embedded in two concepts, nursing human capital and nursing structural capital. The theory also proposes that two concepts in the work environment, nurse staffing and employer support for nursing continuing professional development, influence nursing human capital.
Design:
A cross-sectional design.
Methods:
A systematic three-step process was used to operationalize the concepts of the theory. In 2008, data were collected for 147 inpatient units from administrative departments and unit managers in 6 Canadian hospitals. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted to determine if the indicator variables accurately reflect their respective concepts.
Results:
The proposed indicator variables collectively measured the nurse staffing concept. Three indicators were retained to construct nursing human capital: clinical expertise and experience concept. The nursing structural capital and employer support for nursing continuing professional development concepts were not validated empirically.
Conclusion:
The nurse staffing and the nursing human capital: clinical expertise and experience concepts will be brought forward for further model testing. Refinement for some of the indicator variables of the concepts is indicated. Additional research is required with different sources of data to confirm the findings.
Related Concept Videos
Theoretical Foundations of Nursing Practice
Theories provide a perspective to assess patients' conditions and organize data and methods. They also assist in analyzing and interpreting information. They represent a...
Critical Thinking I
Patient-centered Care
Data Validation
Nursing assessment guides are generally based on holistic models rather than medical...
Critical Thinking II
Intelligence
