The Korean version of the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric: A validation study

Abstract

The scarcity of reliable and valid evaluation tools targeting nursing students' learning outcomes including clinical judgment was identified as one of the barriers in advancing nursing knowledge and skills. However, few studies have assessed the validity and reliability of these tools. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the Korean language version of the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR), a clinical judgment tool currently used in nursing simulation research and English speaking nursing societies. This was an observational study in which a cross-sectional designed survey was used to validate the Korean version of the LCJR (K-LCJR) in three universities in Seoul, South Korea with one hundred fifty two senior nursing students. All participants completed the established simulation coursework as well as the regular clinical rotation on pediatric nursing along with their assigned team. Students evaluated their clinical judgment from their simulation performance using the K-LCJR after completing a simulation session using high-fidelity simulators and standardized patients (SP). Audio-video enhancing equipment for the student's individual and group reflection was used. Item analysis of K-LCJR results showed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of between .897 and .909 and the overall internal consistency reliability coefficient was .910. In the confirmatory factor analysis, the four-factor K-LCJR composed by noticing, interpreting, responding, and reflecting was confirmed with a very good model fit to data, which demonstrated good construct validity. The K-LCJR is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring clinical judgment in nursing students in Korea.