Clinical Competence Assessment In Nursing: a Systematic Review of the Literature (original) (raw)
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A review of clinical competence assessment in nursing
Nurse education today, 2011
s u m m a r y Aims: To investigate trends in the evaluation of clinical competence in nursing students and newly qualified nurses over the last 10 years. Design: A literature review following PRISMA guidelines. Methods: The following databases were searched: Cochrane, Medline and CINAHL using the terms competenc*, nurs*and assess*, evaluat*, measure*, from January 2001-March 2010. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Results: Twenty three papers were included and these mainly considered the following topics: instrument development and testing; approaches to testing competence; assessment and related factors. A holistic concept of competence is gaining popularity, and consensus around definitions is emerging. Some methods and instruments to measure competence are under systematic development and testing for reliability and validity with large samples and rigorous statistical method. Wider national and international cooperation is evident in competence-based assessment. Conclusions: Competence-based education is evident, but this does not mean that issues related to competence definition have been resolved. Larger and more international cooperation is required to reach common agreement and validity in competence-based education and assessment.
Factors Related to the Clinical Competence of Registered Nurses: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2020
Today's health care is rapidly changing due to issues such as complex changes of disease structures, diverse needs of people, aging populations, low birthrates, and technological developments (Fukada, 2018; Karami, Farokhzadian, & Foroughameri, 2017). These complex conditions are a challenge for health practitioners, including nurses. Regardless of work setting, nurses are expected to increase their competence in nursing practice to ensure patient safety and security, to maintain quality care, and to improve nursing outcomes in their unit (Fukada, 2018). It is unarguable that the clinical competence of registered nurses is a fundamental element in the delivery of nursing care. Although competence has been widely discussed in the literature, there is still a degree of ambiguity in its definition. The number of concept analyses demonstrates the complexity of the concept (Garside & Nhemachena, 2013; Smith, 2012; Valloze, 2009). The definition of competence varies in different countries. In the United Kingdom, competence refers to the ability to do tasks within an occupation (Audenaert, Vanderstraeten, Buyens, & Desmidt, 2014), while in the United States, competence is defined as the individual characteristics and behaviors needed to perform required activities (Spencer & Spencer, 2008).
Nursing & Midwifery Research Journal, 2024
Background: An assessment of the clinical competency of nurses at the time of their graduation is essential to get a fair estimate of their level of competence. It helps to lessen the burden on the healthcare system. A “Comprehensive Nursing Competence Assessment Questionnaire (CNCAQ)” has been constructed to fulfil this purpose. Aim: This study aims to develop and validate a CNCAQ to determine the perceived clinical competence of final-year nursing graduates who are about to graduate within three months from selected private and government nursing colleges in India. Methods: A mixed methodology was used and completed in two phases. In phase 1, along with an extensive literature review, focus group discussions, expert evaluation, and pretesting were done, in which 10 nursing experts participated. In phase 2, data were collected from 649 nursing graduates to establish the validity of the construct. The study period was from August to October 2022. Results: The developed CNCAQ has 36 items, comprising four sections: (a) conceptual knowledge and skill in routine nursing care; (b) skill in basic nursing procedures; (c) skill in advanced nursing procedures; and (d) assessment of infusion/transfusion-related nursing procedures. The overall reliability of the tool was 0.963, indicating its high reliability. Overall, there was no difference in clinical competency skills between female and male upcoming nursing graduates. However, statistically significant differences in basic nursing skills and advanced and analytical nursing skills were observed. Conclusions: Assessing nursing students’ competencies is crucial to ensure that they possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to provide safe and effective patient care. The development and validation of a valid and reliable instrument for assessing nursing competencies are essential to evaluate nursing students’ clinical performance accurately. In the present research, a tool with a total of 36 items was used. It demonstrates high reliability; however, it needs to be applied to a larger population of nursing graduates with diverse backgrounds. Nurse educators and administrators can use it to assess the level of competence and, accordingly, a tailor-made induction program based on identified weak areas in theoretical and practical knowledge or skill can be developed. No patient’s were involved in the study. It involved developing a CNCAQ and validating it on a selected group of upcoming nursing graduates.
Bakirkoy Tip Dergisi / Medical Journal of Bakirkoy
Objective: Nursing competence is a basic skill to fulfill the professional roles and responsibilities. Therefore, there is a need for studies to develop the valid and reliable measurement tools to identify the professional competences and competence levels expected from the nurses and evaluate them in the regular intervals. This study aims to develop a valid and reliable tool that could be used to assess the professional competence of the nurses. Methods: The study has a methodological design. The population of this study included 3,133 nurses who worked at three training and research hospitals, one university hospital, and one private hospital in the Istanbul, and its sample included 902 nurses. The study used a Nurse Information Form and Nursing Professional Competence Scale Draft Form. Results: The item-total score correlations ranged from 0.56-0.90. In the exploratory factor analysis, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was calculated as 0.970, and the Bartlett's test of Sphericity result was also significant [x 2 (2211)=43301.45; p<0.01]. The Cronbach's alpha of the Nursing Professional Competence scale was calculated as 0.98. Conclusion: The study found that the Nursing Professional Competence scale is a valid and reliable tool to use. The scale developed in this context could be used in the researches to determine the professional competences of the nurses, to identify the variables affecting the professional competences of nurses, and to examine the effects of nursing education programs on professional competences of the nurses.
Comparison of head nurses and practicing nurses in nurse competence assessment
Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery research, 2011
Nurses play a crucial role in patient-care. Therefore, assessing nurses' clinical competence is essential to achieve qualified and safe care. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the competence assessments made by head nurses and practicing nurses in a university hospital in Iran in 2009. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to make comparisons of both self-assessment of nurse competence as well as assessment made by their respective head nurses working in a university hospital setting in Iran. The instrument employed for data collection was Nurse Competence Scale (NCS), whose reliability and validity have been previously confirmed. The clinical competence of the nurses in 73 skills under 7 categories was determined based on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (0 to 100). They were also asked to indicate the extent to which their competence was actually used in clinical practice on a four-point scale of Likert. The data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential ...
Competence in nursing practice: A controversial concept-A focused review of literature
Nurse Education Today, 2005
The competency-based approach to education, training and assessment has surfaced as a key policy in industrialised nations. Following the transition of nurse preparation to the higher education sector the need to attenuate the tension of interests between employer and educator arose. While the competency-based approach has the potential to fulfil this, the application of competence to nursing is controversial and little consensus exists on definition. This paper synthesises a significant volume of literature relating to the acceptability and definition of the concept of competence with regard to nursing practice. Subsequent to a focused review of literature, problems inherent to the definition and utilisation of the concept of nursing competence are discussed. Because nursing requires complex combinations of knowledge, performance, skills and attitudes, a holistic definition of competence needs to be agreed upon and operationalised. This could facilitate greater acceptance of the concept and also underpin the development of competency standards and the tools required for the assessment of such.
Evaluation of a Tool for Assessing Clinical Competence of Msc Nurse Students
This paper reports the first of a four phase study whose aim is to develop and validate an instrument for assessing the clinical competence of Master of Science (Msc)-medical-surgical nurse students. The objective of the first phase of the study was to evaluate the existing instrument, currently being used for assessing clinical competence of MSc nurse students pursuing medical/surgical specialty. It also explores ideas and content for the development of a new tool. The target population was nurse educators and nurse clinicians with a minimum of MSc-Medical/surgical nursing. Twenty seven (27) participants who participated in this study were drawn from eight (8) of Kenya's recognized universities offering nursing training. The participants had been involved in the training of undergraduate and postgraduate nurse students for a minimum of two (2) years. The aim was to capture participants with current knowledge in nursing practice and those who are familiar with emerging issues in nursing education and practice. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17. The study findings showed that the tool has a low average congruency percentage at 60%. Only seven (20.6%) out of 34 items/competencies demonstrated the minimum content validity index (CVI) of 0.78 (Lynn, 1986). This calls for urgent revision of the tool specifically in terms of adding some performance competencies and probably deleting others.