In today’s dynamic healthcare environment, pediatric nurses require specialized competencies to address the unique physiological and psychosocial needs of children. A validated and reliable tool to assess these competencies is essential for enhancing care quality, guiding professional development, and informing workforce planning.
Objectives of the study: The study aimed to develop and validate the Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) Scale for pediatric nurses working in private hospitals in selected districts of Punjab, and to evaluate its validity, reliability, and usability.
Methodology: A non-experimental methodological research design was used. The NPC Scale was developed through a comprehensive literature review and refined using the Delphi technique across three rounds with expert panels in nursing education, practice, and administration. The final tool comprised 60 items across 10 competency domains, with responses obtained from 385 pediatric nurses selected via convenience sampling. Competency assessments were conducted by head nurses. Content validity was evaluated using I-CVI, S-CVI, and CVR, while internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha.
Important findings: The Item content validity index (I-CVI) ranged from 0.95 to 1.00, and Scale content validity (S-CVI) was 0.97 for socio-demographic items and 0.90 for the Nurse Professional Competence Scale, indicating excellent content validity. Overall, Cronbach’s alpha was 0.936 (p<0.001), demonstrating high internal consistency. Component-wise reliability scores ranged from 0.723 to 0.871. Performance assessment showed that 59.3% of nurses demonstrated satisfactory competence, 14.5% performed strongly, and 26.2% required improvement.
Conclusion: The NPCS is a valid, reliable, and practical instrument for assessing pediatric nursing competencies in private healthcare settings. While most nurses showed satisfactory competence, targeted efforts are needed to strengthen non-clinical domains such as leadership, research utilization, and professional development. The NPCS can serve as a valuable tool for workforce evaluation, training needs assessment, and quality improvement in pediatric nursing practice.