Desire to Work in Nursing Instrument (DeWoNu-I)

Abstract

The Desire to Work in Nursing Instrument (DeWoNu-I), developed by Talman et al. in 2023, is a 14-item questionnaire designed to assess nursing applicants’ desire to work in the nursing profession. This instrument was created to address a gap in existing measures for this specific construct. The development process involved focus group interviews, a comprehensive literature review, and expert evaluations. A meta-ethnographic approach (Munro et al., 2007) was applied to synthesize the collected information, leading to the identification of four key categories: Nature of the work, Career opportunities, Suitability for nursing, and Previous experiences, which comprised 27 elements. The content validity of the instrument was rigorously assessed by experts, resulting in the final 14-item version categorized across these four domains. The DeWoNu-I was administered to nursing applicants from universities of applied sciences in Finland. While theoretically structured with four categories, principal component analysis suggested that a one-factor solution provided the best fit for the data. The instrument’s internal consistency and construct validity have been reported.

Keywords

Career Opportunities, Desire to Work, Nature of the Work, Nursing Applicants, Previous Experiences, Suitability for Nursing

Authors

Talman, Kirsi; Mäntylä, Henna; Hupli, Maija; Kanerva, Anne-Maria; Engblom, Janne; Haavisto, Elina

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the DeWoNu-I is to evaluate the desire of nursing applicants to work in the nursing field. This measure aims to provide a standardized tool for assessing this crucial attribute among prospective nursing students.

Validity

Construct Validity: Construct validity was examined using Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

Content Validity: The initial 15-item version of the instrument underwent a thorough content validity evaluation by four experts. These experts were senior researchers with significant experience in entrance examinations and instrument development. The evaluation process involved three rounds. Following the first round, one item was removed from the “Nature of the work” category, and the wording of seven items was revised. In the second round, further clarification of wording was made for five items. No additional changes were required in the third round. This rigorous process resulted in the final 14-item instrument, which is distributed across the four theoretical categories.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The internal consistency reliability estimates for the four theoretical subscales of the DeWoNu-I ranged from 0.83 to 0.95. When individual items were excluded, the alpha coefficient varied from 0.65 to 0.98, indicating robust internal consistency across the instrument.

Factor Analysis

Principal Component Analysis (PCA): The initial PCA revealed a single factor with an eigenvalue greater than one, which accounted for 76% of the total variance. The scree test indicated inflection points below one and three, prompting an exploration of a two-factor solution. The varimax-rotated two-factor solution explained 82% of the total variance. However, the second factor included only two items with factor loadings of 0.895 (item 4) and 0.628 (item 14). A four-factor solution, consistent with the original number of subscales, was also investigated using varimax rotation. This four-factor solution explained 89% of the total variance. In this solution, the first factor (comprising 10 items) explained 51% of the variance, the second factor 17% (2 items), the third factor 12% (1 item), and the fourth factor 10% (1 item). Despite the theoretical four-subscale structure, the authors recommend considering a one-factor solution for future applications of the DeWoNu-I based on these findings.

Instrument: Desire to Work in Nursing Instrument (DeWoNu-I)

Test Type: Original
Format: All items are measured on a four-point Likert scale, where 1 indicates “agree” and 4 indicates “disagree.”
Language Available: English
Population Group: Human (Male and Female)
Age Group: Adulthood (18 years and older), including Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), and Middle Age (40-64 years).
Population Details: The instrument was administered to nursing applicants in Finland.
Test Methodology: Test Validity, Construct Validity, Content Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis.

Keywords

Career Development; Job Applicant Attitudes; Nursing; Nursing Students; Occupational Choice; Occupational Interest Measures; Occupational Interests; Occupational Preference; Work (Attitudes Toward)

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:
No data is Available

Affiliation Email addresses:
Talman, Kirsi: [email protected]
Mäntylä, Henna: No data is Available
Hupli, Maija: No data is Available
Kanerva, Anne-Maria: No data is Available
Engblom, Janne: No data is Available
Haavisto, Elina: No data is Available

Correspondence Address:
Talman, Kirsi: [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Publisher
Fee: No
Test Year: 2023

References

Talman, K., Mäntylä, H., Hupli, M., Kanerva, A.-M., Engblom, J., & Haavisto, E. (2023). Development and psychometric testing of an instrument to measure applicants’ desire to work in nursing. Contemporary Nurse, 59(2), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/10376178.2023.2200014

Items of the Desire to Work in Nursing Instrument (DeWoNu-I)

This measure consists of 14 items. The specific items are available in the source reference: Talman, K., Mäntylä, H., Hupli, M., Kanerva, A.-M., Engblom, J., & Haavisto, E. (2023). Development and psychometric testing of an instrument to measure applicants’ desire to work in nursing. Contemporary Nurse, 59(2), 153–172. The items can be found in Table 4, Page 167 of the article.

Nature of the work

1. Work is alternating

2. Content of the work is versatile

3. Work is mentally rewarding

Career opportunities
4. Degree enables further education
5. Degree enables specialisation in advanced training
6. Employment possibilities are good

Suitability to nursing
7. I want to help others
8. My personality is suitable for nursing profession
9. The work offers me a possibility to work with people
10. I have a calling towards nursing

Previous experiences
11. I have my own positive experiences of the work undertaken by nurses
12. The hospital environment interests me
13. I am interested in matters related to human health and well-being
14. I have taken an interest in nursing via stories told by close ones

Note. Items are rated on a four-point Likert scale (1 = agree; 4 = disagree).