Examining the psychometric properties of the self-efficacy in clinical teaching scale with undergraduate nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Aim: This paper aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale with a sample of undergraduate nursing students. Background: Enhancing nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching is important for developing their clinical teaching capabilities, which ultimately contributes to safe quality healthcare. Little is known about nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching, potentially due to a lack of validated instruments to measure their self-efficacy in clinical teaching. Design: This study used a cross-sectional survey design. Methods: In 2022, a convenience sample of Year 2 and Year 3 nursing students in an Australian Bachelor of Nursing Program completed the modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale. The scale's construct validity was assessed using known-group measures (year level and peer teaching experience) and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was established through correlation with a visual analogue scale and reliability was tested with Cronbach's alpha. Results: Three hundred and nineteen surveys were analysed. The mean total self-efficacy in clinical teaching score for Year 2 participants was significantly lower than that of Year 3 participants (mean difference = -11.13, 95 % CI [-16.33, -5.93]). Participants with peer teaching experience had a significantly higher mean total score compared with those without peer teaching experience (mean difference = 15.32, 95 % CI [8.74, 21.91]). The scale's relative chi-square test was acceptable (CMIN/df = 4.69); other fit indices were within or just outside acceptable parameters (RMSEA =.11; SRMR =.039; NFI =.89; RFI =.88; IFI =.91; TLI =.90; CFI =.91). There was a strong correlation between participants' total self-efficacy in clinical teaching scores and their visual analogue scale scores (r =.83, n = 314, p <.001 [two-tailed]). Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was .98. Conclusions: The modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale was sensitive to student year level and peer teaching experience. When subjected to confirmatory factor analysis, the scale's model was an acceptable fit across several indices. These findings support an argument for the scale's construct validity. Total self-efficacy scores were strongly correlated with visual analogue scales, suggesting concurrent validity. Using Cronbach's alpha, the scale was found to be reliable, however may benefit from a reduction of item numbers. The modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale may support future investigations of undergraduate nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching and contribute to an understanding of health professional students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching across disciplines.