The novice objective structured clinical evaluation tool: psychometric testing

walsh m., bailey p.h., mossey s. & koren i. (2010) The novice objective structured clinical evaluation tool: psychometric testing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(12), 2807–2818. Aim. This paper is a report of a study of the psychometric properties of the Novice Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation Tool. Background. A collaborative undergraduate nursing programme is currently using an objective structured clinical evaluation at the conclusion of the first nursing clinical course to determine student competence as a component of quality and safety education. However, the reliability and validity of the assessment tool has not been established. Methods. Psychometric testing was conducted with a convenience sample of 565 nursing students. Data were collected during three consecutive years from 2002 to 2004. Exploratory factor analysis and reliability testing were conducted on this 25‐item tool. Results. Principal axis factoring method identified two factors through the orthogonal, oblimin and promax rotations: Factor 1 Safety and Factor 2, Anticipation. Spearman‐Brown’s result for Factor 1 was 0·93 and for Factor 2 was 0·77. Cronbach’s alpha was.94 for Factor 1 and 0·71 for Factor 2. Conclusion. The tool was found to have adequate construct validity and reliability. Its stability should be tested by conducting test–retest analysis. Equivalency dimensions of reliability should be evaluated by looking at interrater reliability. This tool shows merit for assessing elements of quality and safety education.