Aim To test the psychometric properties of a newly developed measure of staff
nurse clinical leadership derived from Kouzes and Posners model of transformational
leadership.
Background While nurses have been recognized for their essential role in keeping
patients safe, there has been little empirical research that has examined clinical
leadership at the staff nurse level.
Methods A non-experimental survey design was used to test the psychometric
properties of the clinical leadership survey (CLS). Four hundred and eighty registered
nurses (RNs) providing direct patient care in Ontario acute care hospitals
returned useable questionnaires.
Results Confirmatory factor analysis provided preliminary evidence for the construct
validity for the new measure of staff nurse clinical leadership. Structural
empowerment fully mediated the relationship between nursing leadership and staff
nurse clinical leadership.
Conclusion The results provide encouraging evidence for the construct validity of
the CLS.
Implications for nursing management Nursing administrators must create
empowering work environments to ensure staff nurses have access to work structures
which enable them to enact clinical leadership behaviours while providing
direct patient care.