RESULTS OF THE FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE BULGARIAN VERSION OF THE SCALE FOR CLINICAL REASONING OF NURSES (NCRS-Bg)
Keywords:
factor analysis, validity, clinical reasoning, reliability, nursesAbstract
Clinical reasoning plays a key role in nursing practice. Its absence can lead to incorrect decisions and compromised patient care. In Bulgaria, there are no validated tools to assess these competencies. This study focuses on the factor analysis conducted during the adaptation of the Nurses Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS) to the Bulgarian context. The aim of the study is to conduct an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the Bulgarian version of the Nursing Clinical Reasoning Scale (Liou et al., 2016) to identify the factor structure of the tool and assess its alignment with the original theoretical model. Methods and Methology. The study includes 368 participants, divided into a pilot group (n=305). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to verify the structure of the scale, complemented by test- retest and criterion validity checks through correlation with the results from the “Clinical Competence Scale” (CCQ-Bg). Analysis of Results. The exploratory factor analysis confirms that the elements of NCRS-Bg are grouped into a single factor related to clinical reasoning. The explained variance is 72.947%, indicating the good adaptation of the tool. The internal consistency coefficient (Cronbach’s α) is 0.973, which demonstrates the high reliability of NCRS-Bg. Conclusion. The adapted version of the NCRS is a reliable and valid tool for measuring clinical reasoning in the Bulgarian context. The results highlight the importance of the NCRS-Bg for the development of nursing practice, providing a foundation for designing training programs and strategies to enhance clinical reasoning skills.
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