The development and pilot of an instrument for measuring nurse managers’ leadership and management competencies

This paper describes the development and piloting of an instrument for measuring nurse managers’ leadership and management competencies. No previous instruments exist that comprehensively measure these dimensions. The instrument was developed in three phases. Following a literature review, the items of the instrument were created. Second, the face and content validity of the instrument were evaluated by an expert panel. Finally, the developed instrument was pilot-tested with a test survey of 22 nurse managers in two organisations. The validity and reliability of the scale was analysed using statistical methods. The resulting Nurse Managers Leadership and Management Competencies scale is a web-based self-assessment test consisting of 194 five-point Likert scale items. Competence is divided into general competence and special competence. The instrument makes it possible to evaluate nurse managers’ leadership and management competencies in public healthcare, and to obtain information for the further development of these attributes and factors.