Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to adapt the Nurse Intuition Patient Deterioration Scale into Turkish and to evaluate its validity and reliability among nurses working in medical-surgical wards. BACKGROUND: Unrecognized clinical deterioration is a critical patient safety issue in hospital settings. Although structured monitoring tools such as the National Early Warning Score are widely used, they do not fully capture the complexity of bedside assessments. Nurses’ intuition—the ability to rapidly recognize deterioration—plays an indispensable role in early detection. METHODS: This was a methodological study focusing on evaluating the measurement properties of the scale, including its reliability and validity. The translation and cultural adaptation process followed the stages of forward translation, synthesis, back translation, expert committee review, and pretesting. RESULTS: For 98 patients, a total of 776 patient assessments were conducted by 40 nurses in this study. The overall scale-level content validity ratio (average) was 0.822, indicating strong overall expert consensus and satisfactory content validity. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was 0.797, suggesting good internal consistency. For criterion validity, the relationship between the Nurse Intuition Patient Deterioration Scale scores and the National Early Warning Score-2 was examined; higher Nurse Intuition Patient Deterioration Scale scores were associated with higher National Early Warning Score-2 scores. CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the Nurse Intuition Patient Deterioration Scale demonstrated strong psychometric properties, confirming its reliability, construct validity, and criterion-related validity. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study contributes to the theoretical advancement of nursing science by bridging the gap between intuitive expertise and empirical measurement. In practice, the Nurse Intuition Patient Deterioration Scale can serve as an evidence-based tool to support clinical decision-making. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-026-04384-7.