Development of a pediatric skill self-efficacy scale

The Pediatric Skill Survey (PSS) is a self-report measure of self-efficacy for nursing skills needed when caring for patients under 18 years old. Potential item stems were derived from a frequency analysis of case presentations in an emergency department. Expert judges later assessed content sampling of items. Initial use of the PSS with 93 subjects showed an internal consistency estimate of .98 across 47 items. Significant known groups discrimination was found between three groups, from lay person to expert nurse, supporting validity. Subsequent study with a sample of 125 nurses showed significant positive correlations between knowledge of pediatric care, attitude toward pediatric patients, and PSS scores, offering further support for the construct validity of the scale.