Background: Nurses are usually the first responders to an in-hospital cardiac arrest. As bystanders, nurses are expected to master some basic resuscitation skills. Self-efficacy levels are a key component in the acquisition of basic resuscitation skills.
Aim: To develop, test and validate a self-efficacy scale that accurately measures nursing students' confidence levels in their capabilities when responding to a cardiac arrest.
Methods: This study enrolled a conveniently recruited sample of 768 nursing students from two different universities in Europe. The Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (BRS-SES) was developed and its psychometrics established. Content validity, criterion validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency were assessed. Performing item-analysis, principal component analysis and known group analysis evaluated construct validity.
Results: Principal component analysis revealed the three-subscale structure of the final 18-item BRS-SES. A Cronbach's alpha of 0.96 for the overall measure demonstrated the internal consistency of the BRS-SES. Data also evidenced discriminant ability of the BRS-SES and known-group analysis showed its high sensitivity and specificity.
Conclusion: The BRS-SES showed good psychometric properties for measuring self-efficacy in basic resuscitation skills that nursing students, as future first responders to an in-hospital cardiac arrest, will be expected to master.
Keywords: BLS; Self-efficacy; confidence; defibrillation; nurses; resuscitation skills.
© The European Society of Cardiology 2014.