Psychometric evaluation of the Austrian version of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short Form (NPC–SF–AUT)

Background and objective: The continuous assessment of nursing competence is internationally established and an important task in the further development of professional nursing. The Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short Form is a potentially appropriate instrument to assess the competence of Austrian Registered Nurses (RN). However, the translated and Austrian-specific culturally adapted version of the scale has not yet been sufficiently psychometrically tested. The aim of this study was to test the validity and internal consistency of the Austrian version of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short Form.Methods: We conducted an exploratory cross-sectional study. Between October 2021 and January 2022, Registered Nurses from a total of 16 hospitals were invited to assess their competencies using the Austrian version of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short Form. Principal axis factor analysis with Promax rotation was performed to test construct validity. Both Cronbach's Alpha and McDonald’s Omega coefficients were used to evaluate internal consistency.Results: Data from a total of 576 Registered Nurses were included in the psychometric evaluation. Both the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient (KMO = 0.958) and the significant Bartlett test (χ2 = 12430.988; df = 595; p < .001) indicated appropriate fit of the data for factor analysis. Using principal axis factor analysis with Promax rotation, five factors were extracted, explaining a total of 60.5% of the variances. The Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short Form German Austrian language version (NPC–SF–AUT) thus comprises 35 items representing the five factors “Health promotion and safeguarding” (13 items), “Multi-professional cooperation and development” (7 items), “Process-guided nursing care” (5 items), “Inclusive decision-making” (5 items) and “Rule-governed professional practice” (5 items). Both the factor-specific Cronbach’s Alpha and McDonald’s Omega coefficients confirmed good to excellent (α = 0.83-0.92; Ω = 0.83-0.92) internal consistency of the NPC-SF-AUT.Conclusions: The NPC–SF–AUT is a valid and internal consistent instrument for the self-assessment of RNs’ competence in Austria. The instrument can be used for the continuous assessment of nursing competence and thus contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.