Developing a Reliable Communication Leadership Competency Survey for Graduate Healthcare Students: Validity and...

This study aimed to develop and validate a tool for assessing communication as a leadership competency among graduate healthcare students. Drawing from the American College of Healthcare Executives 2023 Competencies Assessment Tool and the National Center for Healthcare Leadership Competency Model 3.0, a survey was designed to capture essential domains of communication within leadership contexts. The initial instrument included six domains: relationship management, written communication, facilitation and negotiation, listening skills, verbal communication and effective speaking, and communicating in groups. After initial pilot testing revealed issues with item clarity and scale consistency, the survey was revised to improve content alignment and measurement accuracy. Subsequent testing incorporated exploratory factor analysis (EFA), internal consistency measures, and test-retest reliability analysis. As a result, eight components emerged and ultimately categorized as the following seven domains: communicating in groups, verbal communication and effective speaking, relationship management, written communication, listening skills, ethical collaboration, and respectful interactions. Most domains demonstrated acceptable to excellent psychometric properties, with Cronbach's alpha values and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) supporting internal consistency and stability over time. This tool, the Communication Competency Assessment in Health Professions (CCAHP) survey, provides a validated framework for assessing communication competencies in graduate health professions education and offers practical applications for guiding curriculum design, fostering interprofessional development, and sup¬porting professional identity formation.