Abstract: Objective: To conduct translation and cross-cultural modification of the Clinical Leadership Survey (CLS), to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version. Methods: The Chinese version of CLS was developed through the process of translation and back-translation, conduct cross-cultural modification through expert consultation and pilot-test. Totally 315 clinical nurses were investigated through convenience sampling for test the reliability and validity of Chinese version of CLS. Four experts conducted content validity evaluation. Results: The Chinese version of CLS consisted of 5 factors and 15 items. The items analysis indicated that the CR was more than 3.0 and correlation coefficients between the items and the total score were 0.680-0.829 (P<0.01). The confirmatory factor analysis showed that χ2/df=2.413, RMSEA=0.079, TLI=0.917 and CFI=0.941. The content validity results were confirmed with I-CVIs and S-CVI of 1. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the overall scale was 0.942, and ranging from 0.748-0.889 for each factor. The test-retest reliability was 0.892 (P<0.001). Conclusion: The Chinese version of CLS has proved to be reliable and valid. It can be used as a valid tool to evaluate the leadership of clinical nurses in China.

Key words: clinical leadership; nurse; staff nurse clinical leadership; reliability; validity