Professional Identity in Nursing Scale 2.0: A national study of nurses' professional identity and psychometric properties

Background: Professional identity is a relatively new concept in the nursing and health care literature. Using the definition of Professional Identity in Nursing (PIN) as its main construct, the authors developed and tested the second iteration of the Professional Identity in Nursing Scale (PINS 2.0) used to measure PIN from two perspectives, self and environment.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the PINS 2.0.Methods: To assess psychometric validity and reliability, a split-sample analysis was conducted. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on one half of the sample (n = 322) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on the other half of the sample (n = 312). Descriptive statistics were also performed and analyzed.Results: According to the EFA pattern of parameter coefficients and CFA fit statistics (PINS-self: chi 2(399) =1059.495, p < .001, CFI = 0.934, RMSEA = 0.072, SRMR = 0.032; PINS-environment: chi 2(399) =929.019, p < .001, CFI = 0.946, RMSEA = 0.065, SRMR = 0.029), the PINS 2.0 shows adequate psychometric properties for measuring the concept of PIN with the following 4 constructs: 1) values and ethics, 2) knowledge, 3) leadership, and 4) professional comportment. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were: PINS 2.0-self = 0.97 and PINS 2.0-environment =0.98.Conclusion: We further advance the assessment of the psychometric properties of the PINS 2.0 to measure PIN from the perspective of self and environment.