A Family-Care Rubric: Developing Family Care and Communication Skills Using Simulation

Background: A gap in the literature identified a lack of evidence-based tools that frame feedback and evaluate nursing actions. The Van Gelderen Family Care Rubric (VGFCR) was developed to enhance learning experiences and skill development of family care and communication skills in simulation. Methods: A quantitative instrument development and psychometric testing followed a four-phase design. The rubric was tested at four international sites with registered nurses, nursing-midwifery students, and nurse researchers using simulation scenarios. Results: Eleven of twelve constructs exhibited significance at p = .05. Overall, VGFCR was determined reliable with Fleiss’ Kappa significance at p = .05 at the 95% confidence interval and Cronbach’s alpha = 0.842 among researchers and participants combined. Conclusions: The VGFCR was tested internationally and shown to be a reliable and valid tool in assisting educators in development of student and nursing staff’s family care and communication skills