An instrument to measure professional nursing values

Purpose: To describe the Nursing Professional Values Scab (NPVS), its devel opment, reliability and validity, and its derivation from the Code of Ethic s of the American Nurses Association. Design: The NPVS was tested on 599 subjects, including baccalaureate and ma sters' students and practicing nurses, The students were enrolled in one of 25 programs selected at random from all NLN accredited programs in the Uni ted States. Practicing nurses were randomly selected from a State Board of Nursing list. Method: A 44-item, norm-referenced instrument with a Likert-scale format wa s tested. The responses of participants to this instrument were subjected t o Principal axis factor analysis with varimax rotation. Findings: Eight factors were identified accounting for 58% of the total var iance. The two major factors were Caregiving and Activism. Conclusions: Initial results showed a high level of reliability and validit y for the NPVS. The NPVS is a useful instrument for measuring professional nursing values and enhancing professional socialization.