Development and Psychometric Assessment of Nursing Student's Satisfaction with First Clinical Practical Education...

The present study aimed to develop an instrument for assessing nursing students' satisfaction with First Clinical Practical Education (SFCPE), and then to test the validity and reliability of the instrument.

In this methodological research, the views of a panel of 15 clinical professors, in terms of the clinical nursing principles and skills training, were used to develop the instrument. The content validity of the instrument was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively based on the panel's views. The data was collected from the questionnaire completed by 380 second- and third-semester nursing students in 15 medical universities of Iran. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was later performed to determine the construct validity of the instrument. The reliability of the instrument and stability analysis were evaluated using the internal consistency test by calculating Cronbach's alpha and by the test-retest method, respectively.

Throughout the development phase, 16 items were added to the SFCPE instrument, and a 42-item instrument was later developed. During the qualitative and quantitative content validity reviews, the number of added items decreased to 38 items. Finally, a 37-item instrument consisting of seven factors was developed. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.95 and 0.75-0.9 were obtained for the whole instrument and the factors, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient was within the normal range (0.71-1).

The developed SFCPE is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used for assessing the satisfaction of nursing students in terms of clinical nursing principles and skills.