Psychometric properties of the Australian nurse competency 2000 standards

BackgroundThe Australian Nursing Competency Incorporated (ANCI) 2000 standards provide a standardised framework of accepted professional standards for the registered nurse.AimThe study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the ANCI 2000 national competency standards for measuring nursing competence in new graduate nurses.Research design and methodsOne hundred and sixteen new graduated nurses from three metropolitan public hospitals were surveyed. The psychometric properties of the ANCI 2000 including internal consistency and construct validity were examined.ResultsThe mean score was lowest for competency unit 6 (mean 5.96) and highest for competency unit 4 (mean 8.83). The internal reliability for the total ANCI 2000 was α = .93 and for the domain α = .81 (Domains 1 and 3), α = .79 (Domain 2), and α = .77 (Domain 4). Confirmatory factor analysis using the domains as factors confirmed the 4 factor structure although 3 factors had two items each with loadings in the .4–.5 range.ConclusionsThere are inconsistencies in the psychometric properties of the ANCI 2000 which suggest that further investigation is warranted before it can be used as an instrument for the measurement of new graduate competencies.