Development and psychometric testing of the clinical adjustment scale for student nurses (CAS-SN): A scale for assessing student nurses' adaptation in clinical settings.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Nurse education is critical for preparing student nurses for clinical practice, but the transition to clinical settings poses numerous challenges. A standardized scale to assess student nurses' adjustment in the clinical area is lacking in the Philippines. OBJECTIVE: This paper described the development and evaluation of the Clinical Adjustment Scale for Student Nurses (CAS-SN). DESIGN: An exploratory sequential research design. SETTINGS Nursing schools in three government owned universities in the Philippines. METHODS: Expert panels and field pretesting established content and face validity. Inter-item and inter-total correlations and Cronbach's α were used to assess the reliability of the scale. Construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Criterion validity was evaluated with established measures. RESULTS: The CAS-SN comprises 15 items across three subscales (1) Professional Growth and Interpersonal Engagement, (2) Clinical Competence and Confidence, and (3) Coping and Support Strategies Reliability was excellent and the validity was satisfactory, with significant correlations with academic adjustment, psychological distress, and dropout intention. CONCLUSION: The CAS-SN was found to be a valid and a reliable for assessing student nurses' clinical adjustment. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE EDUCATION The CAS-SN provides a structured framework to assess and monitor student nurses' clinical adaptation, enhancing our understanding of their competence, resilience, and professional identity development. Its integration into nurse education programs can significantly improve the assessment of clinical learning experiences and contribute to better student learning outcomes.