Development of the Hybrid Clinical Practicum Environment Scale for Nursing Students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Assessment
• Healthcare Simulation

Background:

• Clinical practicum is essential for nursing education.
• Evaluating the clinical practicum environment is crucial for student learning.
• Existing scales may not fully capture hybrid (online and in-person) learning experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Hybrid Clinical Practicum Environment Scale for Nursing Students (HCPES-NS).
• To provide a reliable tool for assessing nursing students' perceptions of their clinical learning environments.

Main Methods:

• Scale development followed DeVellis guidelines, incorporating literature review and interviews.
• Content validity was assessed by an expert panel.
• A survey of 449 nursing students was conducted, with data analyzed using factor analysis and reliability tests.

Main Results:

• The HCPES-NS comprises 15 items across five subdomains: clinical site atmosphere, interpersonal relationships, online practicum content, learning information provision, and performance facilitation.
• The scale demonstrated good concurrent validity (r = .77) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .84).

Conclusions:

• The HCPES-NS is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating nursing students' perceptions of hybrid clinical practicum environments.
• This scale can be utilized by educators to assess and improve clinical learning experiences.