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Development of a Scale to Measure Synergy: A Tool to Evaluate Team-Based Learning in Nursing
Kathy J Keister1, Sharon L Farra, Sherrill J Smith
1About the Authors Kathy J. Keister, PhD, RN, CNE, is dean of nursing and allied health, Northwest State Community College Nursing and Allied Health Division, Archbold, Ohio. Sharon L. Farra, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, NDHP-BC, is distinguished professor of professional service and Blanke Endowed Chair for Nursing Research, Wright State University College of Nursing and Health, Dayton, Ohio. Sherrill J. Smith, PhD, RN, CNL, CNE, is professor and dean, University of Wyoming Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing, Laramie, Wyoming. Michael Bottomley, MS, is senior statistical consultant, Wright State University College of Science and Mathematics. The authors acknowledge Sigma Theta Tau International and ATI Testing for financial support of this study. For more information, contact Dr. Smith at Sherrill.smith@uwyo.edu.
Aim:
The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot an instrument to assess group synergy and team-based learning among nursing students.
Background:
Little is known on how to evaluate soft nursing skills such as synergy.
Method:
Nurse faculty were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling to serve on an expert panel. Using the DeVillis framework, three rounds of data were collected using semistructured online surveys. The resulting scale of 34 items was piloted with teams of undergraduate nursing students taking part in a simulation experience.
Results:
Item-content validity index ranged from .8 to 1.0 for each item. Scale-content validity index average was .93; scale-content validity index universal was .62. Exploratory factor analysis identified three factors.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that synergy is multifactorial and can be assessed by faculty. However, further testing of the scale is needed.
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