Rethinking how to measure organizational culture in the hospital setting. The Hospital Culture Scale.

Like all organizations, health care delivery systems must be concerned with understanding the implicit beliefs, values, and assumptions extant within the organization that ubiquitously motivate and shape the behavior of participating members. The Hospital Culture Scale (HCS) was designed as a way to assess the unique culture of hospital organizations. The HCS demonstrated high discriminant validity and reliability when applied to all members (patients, nurses, and physicians) of this particular organization. Data provided from different hospital organizations indicated that the HCS could differentiate between a variety of hospitals. Physicians, nurses, and patients were also compared. Although there was agreement between nurses and patients on how scale items are used, there were disagreements when these organizational members were compared to physicians. Differences between hospital members on the overall perception of hospital culture were found. The implications and utility of the HCS are discussed.