Design of a Competency Evaluation Model for Clinical Nursing Practicum, Based on Standardized Language Systems: Psychometric Validation Study

PurposeTo develop an evaluation system of clinical competencies for the practicum of nursing students based on the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Design and MethodsPsychometric validation study: the first two phases addressed definition and content validation, and the third phase consisted of a cross-sectional study for analyzing reliability. The study population was undergraduate nursing students and clinical tutors. FindingsThrough the Delphi technique, 26 competencies and 91 interventions were isolated. Cronbach's was 0.96. Factor analysis yielded 18 factors that explained 68.82% of the variance. Overall inter-item correlation was 0.26, and total-item correlation ranged between 0.66 and 0.19. ConclusionsA competency system for the nursing practicum, structured on the NIC, is a reliable method for assessing and evaluating clinical competencies. Further evaluations in other contexts are needed. Clinical RelevanceThe availability of standardized language systems in the nursing discipline supposes an ideal framework to develop the nursing curricula.