The Appraisal of Nursing Practice: Instrument Development and Initial Testing

We describe the development of the Appraisal of Nursing Practice (ANP) and present initial psychometric data.

Although measures of new nurses' confidence in clinical practice exist, psychometrically sound observational tools that assess a broad range of nursing competencies are needed.

Based on the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses competencies, the 37-item ANP covers person-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice/quality improvement, safety, informatics, professionalism, and overall satisfaction (with the new nurse's functioning). Cognitive interviewing was used to refine the items. Assessment of interrater reliability and a field test in a new nurse residency program were conducted.

Interrater reliability and internal consistency reliability were generally acceptable. Scores increased significantly for nurses as they moved through a nurse residency program.

The ANP can help nursing administrators identify areas where nurse residents are building needed competencies versus areas that need more work to achieve desired competency outcomes.