Psychometric testing of the facilitative student-patient relationship scale within six European countries

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study was to test the psychometric properties of the FacilitativeStudent–Patient Relationship (FSPR) Scale in clinical practicum in hospital settingswithin six European countries.Design: A multi-country, cross-sectional survey design was applied.Methods: A convenience sample of graduating nursing students (N = 1,796) com-pleted the FSPR Scale. Psychometric testing was carried out through explorative fac-tor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was assessed usingCronbach's alpha.Results: Both validity and reliability of the scale were confirmed. The explorativefactor analysis yielded a two-factor construct explaining 47.7% of the total variance,identifying two sub-scales: caring relationship and learning relationship. Confirmatoryfactor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure. The Cronbach alpha coefficients(0.8–0.9) indicated acceptable reliability of the scale.