Establishing Preliminary psychometric analysis of a new instrument:
Nurse Competency Assessment Tool (NCAT) based on MA Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies Model
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Project Abstract
An education-service partnership was renewed between UMASS-Dartmouth and two healthcare organizations in the Commonwealth (Saint Anne’s Hospital, and St. Vincent Hospital) for the purpose of this study. The project consists of the psychometric analysis of a newly created tool, the Nurse Competency Assessment Tool (NCAT).
In its current state, it is a test consisting of 50 multiple choice items. One outcome of the study is to reduce the number of test items to 30. Study participants, staff nurses in community and metropolitan acute care agencies, hospitals, will be recruited by Directors of Professional Development (DPD) in their agencies to complete the NCAT. The NCAT will be available to complete in an online format, the link to be provided by the DPD. A Computer Science graduate student will write a program for the NCAT test items and survey items to gather demographic data about the study participants. The NCAT will be automatically scored, and totals captured in the program. Statistical files will be prepared based on the NCAT test results enabling test analysis at each phase of the study and to permit conducting additional statistical procedures on the data.
An incentive is offered to study participants consisting of $25 for completing the NCAT. The tool will be revised by a Nurse Researcher based on data collected on at least three phases of the study: revision 1 following review by expert reviewers for content validity; revision 2 following review by study participants’ test-retest for reliability, and revision 3 following study participants’ completion of NCAT for internal consistency. Using common statistical procedures essential to developing sound tests, initial validity and reliability of the NCAT will be determined. The instrument will then be made available to use as part of the NOFNCC tool box.
Contact:
Kerry Fater, PhD, RN, CNE
Professor of Nursing
508-999-8577