Development and Validation of a Tool to Measure Incivility in Clinical Nursing Education

Abstract

Although the literature suggests that incivility on the part of staff nurses toward student nurses in the clinical setting exists, no instrument was found that addressed this phenomenon. This article describes the development and validation of the uncivil behavior in clinical nursing education (UBCNE) tool to measure nursing students' experiences with incivility in the clinical learning environment. The 20-item UBCNE was administered to 118 nursing students at a midwestern school of nursing. Analyses included evaluation of interitem response consistency, internal structure via principal components analysis using both orthogonal and oblique rotation, and assessment of the association to demographic variables and stress while on placement as a criterion measure. Six items were dropped due to high loading on more than 1 component. This resulted in a 12-item test with 2 modified subscales-hostile/mean/dismissive and exclusionary behavior. The revised subscales and total test demonstrate good reliability, and both subscales are clearly represented in the separate components. The UBCNE is an easily administered tool with good internal consistency. Future studies with a larger sample and in different settings need to be conducted.