Testing the reliability and validity of the nurse practitioner student competency assessment

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials (2021) and the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Role Competencies (2022) outline professional nursing competencies, resulting in a shift toward Nurse Practitioner (NP) competency-based education.

To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Nurse Practitioner Student Competency Assessment (NPSCA), a revised instrument measuring person-centered competencies established by AACN and NONPF.

Fifty-three students from four NP programs in their first clinical experience participated in the study. Each student performed one simulation, which was video-recorded. Two faculty members reviewed and scored each student's video recording using the NPSCA and the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Scale, an instrument similar to those used by NP programs. The faculty ratings were collected using an online survey program.

The final version of the NPSCA has 17 items. Eight faculty members rated the items on a scale from 1 (not very relevant) to 4 (very relevant), with 100% agreement that the items were relevant or very relevant, indicating sufficient content validity. Internal consistency: α = 0.884-0.895. Correlations between the NPSCA and the VCU scale were r = 0.288, p = .036 and r = 0.589, p < .001, respectively.

The evidence supports the reliability and validity of the NPSCA. Its internal consistency is excellent, and the content validity and criterion-related validity were sufficiently supported.

With a shortage of reliable and valid tools to assess NP graduates, the NPSCA may play a role in evaluating and ensuring the readiness of NP graduates for practice.