Psychometric Evaluation of the Nurse Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS): A Validation Study Among Italian Nurses

Background and Purpose: Clinical reasoning for nurses is considered a valuable component of clinical nursing competencies, but there are few tools to ascertain this. This study tested the Italian Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale (I-NCRS) psychometric properties based on Levett-Jones' theoretical clinical reasoning model. Methods: Content, face, and construct characteristics were ascertained for their validity. The study had a two-phase design: (a) content and face validity and (b) construct validity. Results: Three factors emerged from the factorial analysis of our reference sample: nursing problems of health, nursing information of health, and nursing assessment of health. Conclusions: The scale represents a valuable tool for the self-assessment of the clinical reasoning skills of nurses. I-NCRS showed evidence of validity and reliability, being also useful for assessing clinical reasoning for educational and research purposes among Italian nurses.