Undergraduate nurses' perception of the nursing practice environment in university hospitals: A cross-sectional survey

Objective To describe the psychometric properties of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NW) among undergraduate nurses and to compare their perceptions of the nursing practice environment by academic year and unit type. Background Despite the fact that nursing students develop most of their undergraduate learning and training in the nursing practice environment, their perception about it has not been considered to date. Methods The psychometric properties were analysed on a sample of 180 undergraduate nurses. Data collection was carried out in 2018. Data were analysed using percentages, frequencies, mean, standard deviation and Mann-Whitney U test. Factor structure was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis, and reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha. Results Psychometric analysis showed an adequate construct validity and reliability for the PES-NWI. Cronbach's Alpha was 0.884. Undergraduate nurses perceived most hospitals as favourable, scoring the 'Nurse-physician relationships' factor highest and 'Staffing and resource adequacy' factor lowest. Conclusion The PES-NWI is a valid and reliable instrument that could be applied in future research to explore nursing students' perceptions of the nursing practice environment. Implications for nursing management Nurse managers are responsible for supervising and ensuring that the nursing practice environment at university hospitals meets the necessary criteria to support the workplace learning of undergraduate nurses.