| Learning Objective #1: Discuss implications to nursing education of an outcome measure of nursing students’ perceptions of instructor caring | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Describe the process for developing a theory-based instrument to measure nursing students’ perceptions of instructor caring |
Objective: To describe development of an instrument to measure nursing students’ perceptions of instructor caring (NSPIC). Population, Sample, Setting: The NSPIC was field tested with 133 junior and senior students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program located in the Eastern United States. Methods: Statements about instructor’s caring behaviors were created with Dr. Jean Watson and piloted with a small sample of nursing students. Next, the NSPIC was field tested with a larger representative sample. The NSPIC instrument contains a 6-point Likert scale for student responses to the statements and two vignettes for reflection on experiences with caring and uncaring instructors. Findings: Based on an item analysis, factor analysis and student comments, the original 69 statements were reduced to 31. Psychometric testing revealed that the NSPIC is internally consistent (a = .97) and contains five subscales. Convergent validity was established between the NSPIC and a semantic differential scale of students’ perceptions of instructor caring. Coates (1997) Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) was also positively correlated with the NSPIC. Conclusions: The NSPIC is internally consistent, well defined by the items, and based on caring theory. For the study sample, the scale was a reliable and valid measure of nursing students’ perceptions of instructor caring. Because the NSPIC was field tested with students from one baccalaureate nursing program, additional testing is needed. Implications: Although the NSPIC is in its early stages of development, use as an outcome measure of caring in nursing education is promising. As an empirical indicator of caring, the NSPIC may provide evidence of how nursing students learn to care. The NSPIC contains only 31 items that can be administered in less then 15 minutes and used to validate the influence of caring interactions between student and faculty on students ability to care.
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