Basic Competence and Its Related Factors in Critical Care Nurses: A Management View Download PDF

Background and Aim: Clinical competence plays a crucial role in quality of care and ensures safe and accurate performance of nurses. Critical care nurses require a high level of adequacy and competence to treat critically ill patients. Accordingly, we performed this study to determine the basic competence level of critical care nurses. Materials and Methods: This descriptive and analytic study was performed using census method. Basic competence of 380 critical care nurses was evaluated using a demographic characteristics form including 12 related underlying factors and Intensive and Critical Care Nursing Competence Scale, version 1(ICCN-CS-1). This scale contained 144 items with 4 dimensions of knowledge, skills, experiences, as well as attitudes and values, by which two main areas of basic competence, that is, clinical and professional competence, were assessed based on a 5-point Likert scale, and their relationship with 7 personal and clinical characteristics was examined. Reliability and validity of the scale were previously confirmed by a psychometric research. Moreover, its face and content validities were re-evaluated. Data analysis was performed in SPSS, version 21, using statistical tests. Results: In total, 245 (64.47%) of the critical care nurses expressed they had excellent basic competence, whereas 131 (34.47%) and 4 (1.05%) of the cases appraised their basic competences to be at good and moderate levels, respectively. In addition, according to the criteria of the research scale, means of clinical and professional competences of nurses were estimated at 4±0.38 and 4.04±0.46, respectively. According to the results, a significant relationship was observed between basic competence of nurses and variables of age, marital status, post in the ward, working shift, clinical work experience, intensive care unit work experience, and employment status. Conclusion: According to our results, basic competence (professional and clinical competence) of the majority of the critical care nurses was excellent, and none of the nurses had weak competence. Mean levels of clinical and professional competences of nurses were reported to be good. From the 12 underlying factors, seven were significantly associated with clinical, professional and basic competences of the nurses.