Implementation of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale in the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale in Croatia in order to use it as a valid and reliable instrument for assessing nurses’ competence. Methodological study. Content and construct validity as well as internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. The six-factor structure of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale in the Republic of Croatia was confirmed by CFA. The six-factor model showed a satisfactory fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.085, CFI = 0.84). All factor loadings were significant at p < 0.05. Cronbach’s alpha for each scale ranged from 0.76 to 0.92. The psychometric properties of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale in the Republic of Croatia show that the scale is a reliable and valid measurement tool and as such can be used in research to assess the quality of professional competencies of nurses. The Scale consists of 35 items distributed in six competence areas.