Validation of the Advanced Practice Nursing Competency Assessment Instrument in a hospital environment

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Health Professions Education
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Advanced practice nursing roles are expanding globally.
• Standardized tools are needed to assess competencies of advanced practice nurses.
• The Advanced Practice Nursing Competency Assessment Instrument (APNCAI) requires validation for the Brazilian context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the measurement properties of the Advanced Practice Nursing Competency Assessment Instrument - Brazilian version.
• To establish construct validity and reliability of the APNCAI in a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• Methodological study involving 238 nurses in a hospital environment.
• Data collected using a characterization form, APNCAI - Brazilian version, and nurse competence scale.
• Construct validity assessed via confirmatory factor analysis and Spearman's correlation; reliability via Cronbach's Alpha and composite reliability.

Main Results:

• Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a satisfactory model fit.
• The instrument demonstrated acceptable reliability: Cronbach's Alpha ranged from 0.76 to 0.87.
• Composite reliability values were also strong, ranging from 0.85 to 0.90.

Conclusions:

• The APNCAI - Brazilian version provides evidence of construct validity.
• The instrument exhibits good internal consistency and reliability.
• The validated APNCAI - Brazilian version is suitable for practical use in assessing advanced practice nursing competencies.