Preliminary development and validation of a peer mentoring needs assessment scale for novice nurse faculty

Abstract

Mentoring is a vital tool in increasing job satisfaction and promoting retention of novice nurse faculty. The aim of this study is to establish the construct validity and internal consistency of a new Novice Faculty Confidence Scale for use in the mentoring of novice nurse faculty. This cross-sectional study was performed at an undergraduate nursing program in the Midwest. The Novice Faculty Confidence Scale was evaluated by six experienced faculty (at least 5 years of experience in the faculty role). Twenty-five items within the four domains of the nurse faculty role (teaching, service, scholarship, and personal support) were identified that could be positively impacted by a peer mentoring program. The items were rated for relevance by the experienced faculty members to establish content validity and internal consistency. The reliability was analyzed for internal consistency and validity was examined for construct validity of the items and the scale as a whole. The Novice Faculty Confidence Scale was found to have high construct validity and internal consistency. The item construct validity indices ranged from 0.5 to 1, producing a scale construct validity index/average of 0.85. Removing the items with an item construct validity index under 0.78 increased the scale construct validity index/average to 0.92 with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95. This scale is a valid way to identify novice faculty mentoring needs related to the mentee's confidence in teaching, service, scholarship, and personal support.