DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASSESSMENT TOOL IN MEASURING COMPETENCIES OF HEAD NURSE

Abstract

Competencies have been considered as the single biggest contributor for the difference between effective and ineffective managers. Competencies assessment is critical for head nurses who must move between and among health care settings. Competency assessment is an ongoing process of initial development, maintenance of knowledge and skills, educational consultation, remediation, and redevelopment.

The aim of this study was focused on the validity and the reliability of the assessment tool in measuring competencies for head nurses. This study developed an assessment tool in measuring competencies of the head nurses from the competencies published by AONE, 2005. Content validity was done by the expert review. The respondents were 100 head nurses in the hospitals in Pampanga, the Philippines. The reliability test was done by Cronbach alpha test.

From the initial assessment tool which had 91 items, it became 74 items after the expert review and the reliability test was conducted. The computed Cronbach's alpha for the 74-item Scale for Head Nurses' Competencies was 0.988, indicating very high internal consistency. So the instrument is reliable for measuring the competencies of head nurses.

This study concluded that the assessment tool in measuring competencies of the head nurses had demonstrated evidence of internal consistency reliability and content validity. It provided an objective tool for assessing the head nurses competencies in the various areas of the hospitals.a