Task performance behaviours are delineated according to role requirements and should be identified by a thorough
analysis of the job. Past measures of nursing performance, including the Slater Nursing Competencies Rating scale (Wandelt & Phaneuf 1974) and the Schwirian six-D scale (Schwirian 1978), have focussed on task performance and incorporated components such as planning and evaluation of care, critical care, communication and professional development.