Validation of a New Instrument for Self-Assessment of Nurses’ Core Competencies in Palliative Care

Abstract

Competence can be seen as a prerequisite for high quality nursing in clinical settings. Few research studies have focused on nurses' core competencies in clinical palliative care and few measurement tools have been developed to explore these core competencies. The purpose of this study was to test and validate the nurses' core competence in palliative care (NCPC) instrument. A total of 122 clinical nurse specialists who had completed a postbachelor program in palliative care at two university colleges in Norway answered the questionnaire. The initial analysis, with structural equation modelling, was run in Mplus 7. A modified confirmatory factor analysis revealed the following five domains: knowledge in symptom management, systematic use of the Edmonton symptom assessment system, teamwork skills, interpersonal skills, and life closure skills. The actual instrument needs to be tested in a practice setting with a larger sample to confirm its usefulness. The instrument has the potential to be used to refine clinical competence in palliative care and be used for the training and evaluation of palliative care nurses.

Competências do enfermeiro para o cuidado paliativo na atenção domiciliar

“…The disease that limits life has impact on interpersonal relationships of patients and families, and noticing when and how making referrals to specialized help, favors the access to additional resources in order that patients and family members are able to maintain a good quality of life at the end of life. (4,11,12) The affirmations found in the competencies were recognized as knowledge and practices of nurses in palliative care. The consensus on specific competencies in the level of total agreement, points to confidence in the palliative potential of nurses because they claim to be able to anticipate and re-spond to the palliative care needs, understand their own limitations and the need to seek help for complex actions.…”

“…The consensus on specific competencies in the level of total agreement, points to confidence in the palliative potential of nurses because they claim to be able to anticipate and re-spond to the palliative care needs, understand their own limitations and the need to seek help for complex actions. (4) The low percentage indicated by nurses in the level of partial agreement and disagreement on some specific competencies (table 2), may indicate the need to acquire more knowledge on palliative care to maintain and develop their own professional competencies. Most nurses claimed to have participated in courses addressing the theme of palliative care, and the literature indicates that all health professionals should increasingly acquire education on the principles and practices of palliative care, going beyond the initial formation and reaching a level of expertise, especially those whose work is focused on providing palliative care.…”

“…In this context, the World Health Organization proposes concepts and guidelines for this type of care, with an approach that allows the best quality of life for patients and their families, through the identification, evaluation and treatment of problems of physical, psychosocial and spiritual order. (2)(3)(4) In the multidisciplinary team of palliative care, the nursing professionals are on the front line to provide care, comfort and counseling for families and patients. In this interaction, the successful implementation of care arises from the patient-nursing relationship and from their interest and willingness to exercise such care at the end of life.…”

Avaliação Da Aplicabilidade Da Versão Portuguesa De Um Questionário De Competências Para Enfermeiros Hospitalares

“…For the total score, the Cronbach's alpha of the pilot was 0.932, approaching the original instrument (0.97), and varied between 0.58 and 0.896 for the domains, in line with a recent study that, when validating an instrument called Nurses Core Competence in Palliative Care, obtained a Cronbach's Alpha in the domains of the instrument ranging from 0.51 to 0.97. 16 …”

Becoming Competent in Palliative Care as Perceived by Nurses Attending a Master Programme. A Qualitative Study

“…An example is the Nurses' core competences in palliative care developed by SICP [21]. Several studies use pre-post test design to assess the improvement of nurses' competence as a result of PC training [22][23][24].…”