DEVELOPMENT OF A STAFF NURSE ROLE CONCEPTION INVENTORY.
Contributors: University of Kansas.
Published: 1983
Number of pages: 217
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the potential domain of the construct, staff nurse role conception, and to begin development of an inventory to measure that construct. The construct evolved from role theory and research in nursing and organizational psychology. Stimulus material for domain specification was collected from individuals whose expectations influenced hospital staff nurses' role conception (n = 221) including staff nurses, nursing program faculty, nursing administrators and supervisors, patients, and physicians. A pool of 358 Likert-type items was developed for the inventory. A stratified panel of staff nurses (n = 18) provided data for preliminary item screening, and means and standard deviations were used to reduce the pool to 137 items.

The set of 137 items was administered to staff nurses at 8 midwestern hospitals (n = 581), and truncated principal components factor analysis procedures were used to examine the underlying structure of the construct. The analysis revealed 15 basic dimensions with 5 cogent factors, General Professional Boundaries, Indirect Patient Services, Authority, Autonomy, and Direct Patient Services. To begin development of an inventory to measure the construct, the five factors were assessed on reliability and validity. Coefficient alpha for the five subscales ranged from .806 to .624.

Procedures used in generating items supported construct validity. Scores on items for two factors, General Professional Boundaries and Autonomy, were related to highest nursing education credential held by the staff nurses, which was consistent with earlier research on this construct. Recommendations for future studies included further examination of the 15 basic dimensions, refinement of the existing subscales, and development of additional subscales. A tool to measure staff nurse role conception would facilitate research about role problems of nurses and job turnover and would offer practical information for designing and evaluating organizational systems for nursing practice.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-11, Section: B, page: 3361.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, 1983.

School code: 0099.