Development and psychometric testing of a competency of nursing process questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Quality
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Assessing nursing competency is crucial for quality patient care.
• A validated tool is needed to evaluate registered nurses' skills in Cambodia.
• The nursing process provides a framework for standardized nursing practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a competency of nursing process questionnaire (CNPQ) for registered nurses in Cambodia.
• To establish the validity and reliability of the CNPQ.

Main Methods:

• Initial questionnaire development involved focus groups, literature review, and expert consultation.
• Online survey of 260 registered nurses in Cambodia (January-February 2022).
• Validated using content validity index, Cronbach's alpha, test-retest reliability, and exploratory factor analysis.

Main Results:

• Content validity index was 1.00.
• High reliability: Cronbach's alpha = 0.963, test-retest reliability = 0.769.
• Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 24-item, 5-dimension (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation) questionnaire with 70.08% cumulative variance.

Conclusions:

• The developed CNPQ demonstrates excellent reliability and validity.
• The CNPQ is suitable for self-assessment of registered nurses' competency.
• The tool can inform nursing managers in developing relevant competency-based policies.