Adaption of the Casey-Fink Survey Tool for Nurse Residency Programs: Making It Relevant for Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse Residency Programs

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This evaluation project focused on assessing the content validity of an adapted version of the Casey-Fink (CF) Graduate Nurse Experience Survey, which is aimed at measuring role transitions in nursing. BACKGROUND Registered nurses in the hospice and palliative care field need training and confidence to be proficient in core skills including communication, interprofessional competence, and clinical skills required to care for the dying patient. However, a review of the literature revealed a gap in the availability of survey instruments to measure the confidence of nurses entering the field of hospice and palliative care. METHODS Ten items from the CF survey were revised by the project team and then evaluated for relevance by a group of 7 national hospice and palliative experts. The content validity index (CVI) was used to determine item relevance. RESULTS Item-level CVI (I-CVI) calculations ranged from 0.57 to 1.0. The 8 items scored between 0.80 and 1.0 were retained as written. One item required further revision (I-CVI, 0.71), and 1 item revision was eliminated (I-CVI, 0.57). Experts also suggested 5 additional items in the original CF-survey need modification. CONCLUSION The adapted CF-survey tool is ready for further psychometric testing, and next steps include administration to a new sample of nurse residents to determine construct validity.