The Human Capital Competencies Inventory for nurse managers: Development and psychometric testing

Nurse managers play a vital role in health care delivery systems. Of concern, is the demand for nurse managers and nurse manager competencies in contemporary management practices. Researchers in competency based graduate education responded to the demand for competent nurse managers with curriculum revisions and course offerings but psychometrically sound measures of management practices grounded in empirical practice data are needed.The purpose of this research was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Human Capital Competencies Inventory (HCCI), a measure of nurse manager competencies in managing human capital and extension of the Mastery Path (Russell & Scoble, 2004). The study was guided by the Conceptual Model of Nursing and Health Policy and the Mastery Path for developing nurse managers.Five essential competencies in a 61-item inventory of skills based activities were identified in an analysis of the literature describing the essential competencies of nurse managers associated with human capital management. Content validity testing (N = 3, CVI = 1. 0, for all retained items) and internal consistency reliability (N = 99 Cronbach's alpha = .84--.89) yielded 58 activities in five subscales: developing self, recruiting, developing others, utilizing and retaining.Analyses of HCCI responses from 99 nurse managers in first line and midlevel positions in health care organizations in one Northeastern state revealed considerable consistency in the performance of activities. Management practice scores using the HCCI classified nurse managers by known management levels with a high degree of certainty (critical value p =< .05). Three robust educational constructs---education, experience, and HCCI competencies explaining 69% of the sample variance were confirmed.The results of this study indicate the 58-item HCCI is a valid and reliable measure of human capital competencies. In addition, there is early support for the Mastery Path as a competency model for developing nurses for management in health care organizations. Further development of the HCCI should include testing in the target population of nurses aspiring to management. Developing instruments to assess the four other management practices in the Mastery Path is warranted.