Evaluating preceptors: a methodological study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Performance Measurement

Background:

• Assessing nursing performance is crucial for patient safety and quality of care.
• Standardized instruments are needed to reliably evaluate nursing skills and competencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Baptist Health Lexington Performance and Proficiency Assessment.
• To determine the reliability and validity of the assessment instrument for nursing staff.

Main Methods:

• Content validity was assessed by 12 expert nurse educators.
• Test-retest reliability involved nurse administrators (5), preceptors (9), and new graduates (10).
• Internal consistency was evaluated using responses from administrators (12), preceptors (66), and new graduates (43).

Main Results:

• The assessment instrument demonstrated strong content validity.
• High reliability was confirmed through test-retest and internal consistency analyses.
• All subscales on the preceptor and new graduate versions showed robust validity and reliability.

Conclusions:

• The Baptist Health Lexington Performance and Proficiency Assessment is a valid and reliable tool.
• The validated instrument can be effectively used for evaluating nursing performance.
• This assessment supports standardized competency evaluation in nursing practice.