1LLF - Assessing Professional Nursing Communication Competence: Simulation Experiences and Psychometric Evaluation

Abstract :

Objective: To test the psychometric properties of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes components of the Professional Nursing Communication Competence (IMC-CPE) instrument and establish standards for its application.

Method: This methodological study was conducted in three steps: (a)planning educational activities through a focused lecture on the competence, followed by the application of the simulation-based experience (SBE) strategy (b)psychometric analysis of dimensionality, item difficulty, discrimination, and internal consistency reliability; and (c) standardization and normalization of the instrument. The IMC-CPE was applied over three phases: before the lecture on professional nursing communication competence, post-simulation scenario experience and post-debriefing. Participants included 249 senior final-year nursing undergraduates. The study was conducted in three Simulation Labs at universities in Brazil.

Results: The mean age of participants was 24.4 years, with 87.6% identifying as female. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the structure of the IMC-CPE, revealing three factors: knowledge (ω=0.928), skills (ω=0.927), and attitudes (ω=0.939) (KSAs). Item discrimination ranged from moderate (1.21) to perfect (3.13), with 69.6% showing high discrimination and difficulty. The normalization results provided quantitative metrics to interpret IMC-CPE scores, enabling comparisons with studies of similar theoretical-methodological bases.

Conclusion: The instrument was tested as a valid, accurate, and reliable educational tool for assessing nursing professional communication competence. It is capable to discriminate not only different levels of students but also the items difficult. Using the IMC-CPE, educators can establish cut scores for each competency (KSAs) level. Findings prove the instrument's suitability for SBE, real clinical practice, and classroom activities including formative, summative, and high-stakes assessment.

Please include a short summary of your presentation that highlights why an attendee would want to participate in your session.: No previous study has presented a tool to assess communication competence across all communicational contexts and nursing roles in care management.

The IMC-CPE demonstrated valid, reliable, and accurate psychometric properties for measuring knowledge, skills, and attitudes in nursing communication competence.

Communication competence can be measured by a valid, accurate, and reliable tool across all communicational contexts in SBE.