Description of practice as an ambulatory care nurse: psychometric properties of a practice-analysis survey.

Changes within nursing demand that a specialty conduct periodic, appropriate practice analyses to continually validate itself against preset standards. This study explicates practice analysis methods using ambulatory care nursing as an exemplar. Data derived from a focus group technique were used to develop a survey that was completed by 499 ambulatory care nurses. The validity of the instrument was assessed using principal components analysis; reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The focus group with ambulatory care experts produced 34 knowledge and activity statements delineating ambulatory care nursing practice. The survey data produced five factors accounting for 71% of variance in the data. The factors were identified as initial patient assessment, professional nursing issues and standards, client care management skills, technical/clinical skills, and system administrative operations. It was concluded that practice analyses delineate a specialty and provide input for certification examinations aimed at measuring excellence in a field of nursing.