Core competencies for nurses in Chinese intensive care units: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Background Core competencies of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses were defined as the essential capability to influence patient safety and interdisciplinary collaboration; however, there has been no research conducted that relates to core competencies of ICU nurses at Chinese tertiary‐A hospitals in Shanghai. Aims and objectives To investigate the current state of core competencies and the factors that influence this key capability in ICU nurses in Chinese tertiary‐A hospitals. Design This was a multicentre, cross‐sectional study. Methods A convenient sampling method was used to investigate 451 ICU nurses at five tertiary‐A hospitals in Shanghai. Data were collected using self‐administered questionnaires. Results The core competencies of ICU nurses were above average, and the scores of seven dimensions, ranked from first to last, were medical ethics, clinical practice, nurse–nurse co‐operation, assessment and decision‐making, personal and professional development, teaching and research and nurse–physician co‐operation. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the factors exerting an influence on the core competencies of ICU nurses were title, role incumbent and ICU department. Conclusion This study showed an above‐average level of core competencies among ICU nurses in tertiary‐A hospitals in Shanghai; however, competencies related to nurse–physician co‐operation and the translation of research into practice were underdeveloped. Relevance to clinical practice Nursing managers should implement targeted interventions to improve nurse–physician co‐operation and translate research into practice competencies, such as high‐fidelity simulation, inter‐professional education, scientific research training and innovative skills tutorials. Moreover, this study demonstrated the influencing factors that can be used to improve core competences of ICU nurses.

Effects of an Innovative Training Program for New Graduate Registered Nurses: A Comparison Study

“…In China, usually, hospitals undertake most of the nurse training tasks, whereas universities offer part of the courses Although the NGRNs who received the innovative training presented better competencies compared with the control group, overall, the NGRNs in the study presented significantly lower core competencies scores compared with the experienced Chinese nurses investigated in other studies (with a mean score around 2.5 vs. 4.0; Li et al, 2015;Wei et al, 2019). In addition to the creative way that we applied to improve the outcomes of learning for the NGRNs, we also suggest integrating the continuing education program into clinical practices to strengthen the knowledge and skills of the nurses.…”

Construction of an index system of core competence assessment for infectious disease specialist nurse in China: a Delphi study

“…Core competence in the field of nursing refers to the knowledge, skills and attitude that a nurse must possess in clinical nursing work [ 8 , 9 ]. In respond to the growing complexity and rapid change of infectious diseases, the core competence of infectious disease specialist nurses should also be constantly enriched and improved.…”

The gerontological nurse specialist’s core competencies in China: A cross‐sectional study

“…Additionally, the skills of GNSs were not related to work department in this study, confirming the result of a previous study (Rawson, Bennett, & Ockerby, 2017). However, Wei, Niu and Ge described that the department had an impact on the core competencies of ICU nurses (2018). The reason may be that GNSs work not only in the geriatric department but also in other departments and with the growth of the older adult population, most departments have a large number of older adults in China.…”