Development and validation of professional competency scale for military nurses: an instrument design study

BACKGROUND: Military nurses are expected to be competent in providing quality nursing care in their assigned departments and meeting the medical needs of the military during deployment. Competency assessment is a key step in the development of a robust and competent nursing team. This study was aimed to develop the Professional Competency Scale for Military Nurses (PCSMN) and test its psychometric properties. METHODS: An instrument development and validation study were conducted. Military nurses in military hospitals in eastern, southern, western, and northern China were recruited in this study. The study procedure comprised three main steps: item development (extensive literature review, the Delphi survey, and a pilot test), scale development (item analysis and exploratory factor analysis), and scale validation (confirmatory factor analysis and reliability test). RESULTS: The 65-item PCSMN comprised four dimensions: clinical nursing knowledge and skills, military nursing knowledge and skills, professional ability, and comprehensive quality. The reliability and validity of the PCSMN were satisfactory, with the above four factors accounting for 66.9% of the total variance. CONCLUSION: The PCSMN is a good instrument for evaluating the competencies of military nurses in military hospitals. This may provide guidance for competency-based training. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-022-00867-5.