The nurse manager practice environment scale: Development and psychometric testing

OBJECTIVES:: The objectives of this study were to develop and test a scale designed to describe and assess nurse managers' practice environments. BACKGROUND:: Creating practice environments supporting workers at all levels is critical to achieving excellent patient, staff, and organizational outcomes. Scales are available to assess staff nurses' practice environment; however, no comparable scale for nurse managers exists. METHODS:: A cross-sectional design using an electronic survey was administered to nurse managers in 25 hospitals in 9 health systems from 6 states. RESULTS:: Exploratory factor analysis with a varimax rotation produced a final solution of 44 items loading in 8 domains. Cronbach's α's ranged from .72 to .97. Mean scores ranged from 3.92 to 4.99 on a 6-point Likert scale. CONCLUSIONS:: The scale demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and warrants further use and testing. Understanding the nurse manager practice environment may reveal insights to guide opportunities to improve organizational performance.