Non-technical skills assessment scale in nursing: construction, development and validation1.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Patient Safety Research

Background:

• Non-technical skills are vital for nurses in clinical settings to enhance patient safety.
• Existing assessment tools for non-technical skills in nursing education were lacking.
• Crisis resource management principles informed the development process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct, develop, and validate a non-technical skills assessment scale specifically for nursing.
• To provide a reliable instrument for evaluating essential non-technical skills in nursing practice.

Main Methods:

• Methodological research involving literature review and expert experience.
• Development of a 63-item, five-point Likert scale.
• Psychometric evaluation using descriptive statistics, correlation, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), and exploratory factor analysis on 177 nursing students.

Main Results:

• The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties, including high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94).
• Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor model, explaining 26% of the variance.
• Item analysis indicated a good distribution of responses and significant positive relationships between items.

Conclusions:

• The developed scale is a valid instrument for assessing non-technical skills in nursing.
• Measurement of non-technical skills can be integrated into healthcare education programs.
• The scale can identify needs and guide improvements in healthcare training and practice.