Adaptation and assessment of the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the nursing student competence scale

Abstract

Background

It is critical to evaluate competence and learning outcomes in nursing education. The purpose of the study was to adapt the Nursing Student Competency Scale (NSCS) into Turkish and to determine its validity and reliability.

Methods

This methodological study was conducted between March 2023 and May 2023 with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year students enrolled in the nursing program at a university. The data were collected using the “Student Identification Form” and the “Turkish version of NSCS (NSCS-T)”. Content, face and construct validity were evaluated. Reliability was examined with internal consistency and test-retest.

Results

A total of 316 nursing students voluntarily participated in the study. The item-level content validity index of the scale ranged between 0.80 and 1.00. According to confirmatory factor analysis, the six-factor model consisting of 30 items (medical-related knowledge, basic nursing skills, communication and cooperation, life-long learning, global vision, and critical thinking) had a good fit index (χ2/df = 2.54; GFI = 0.852; CFI = 0.943; RMSEA = 0.063; TLI = 0.936; SRMR = 0.038). The factor loadings of the scale are greater than 0.30, explained 75.8% of the total variance. The Cronbach’s alpha of the scale was 0.97 across the scale and 0.86–0.93 among the subscales; item-total correlations were between 0.55 and 0.83. Intraclass correlation coefficient ranged between 0.95 and 0.98.

Conclusions

The results indicated that the NSCS-T is a sufficiently valid and reliable instrument to measure the competency level of Turkish nursing students.

Trial registration

Not applicable.