Construction Of The Competency Scale For Clinical Nurses In Emergency And Intensive Care Unit

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to establish a competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit,and to provide a scientific basis for the objective selection,evaluation,and training of clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.Methods1.Ten clinical nurses and nursing managers in emergency and intensive care unit were investigated by an open-ended questionnaire to understand the essential competency of clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.2.Twenty clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit were interviewed through the Behavioral Event Interview method,and the interview texts were coded and analyzed to construct a competency model for clinical nurse in emergency and intensive care unit.3.Based on the competency model for clinical nurse in emergency and intensive care unit,ten experts were selected to discuss the competencyclauses of clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.4.Twenty nursing specialists in emergency and intensive care unit were invited to participate two rounds of consultations by Delphi method,to determine the clauses and weight assignments of the competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.5.The competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit was used to survey seventy-five clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit in a Level-A hospital of Guangdong Province,and verified the reliability and validity.Results1.The competency model for clinical nurse in emergency and intensive care unit was identified.Achievements and actions,helper and service,management,cognitive,individual efficacy,and nine baseline competences and two discriminatory competences were included in the competency model.2.The competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit was identified.Five features,ten primary indicators and thirty-eight secondary indicators was consisted in the competency evaluation index system.The effective recovery rate of the two rounds of questionnaires was 100%,indicating that the experts had a good enthusiasm for the study;the authority coefficient of the experts was 0.84,and the coefficient of variation of each index was between 0.09 and 0.21,indicating that the authority of experts and the degree of coordination of opinions were high.3.The weight of each primary indicators were determined,"Professional Training was 0.106","Professional Knowledge and Skills was 0.104","Critical Thinking was 0.103","Teamwork was 0.102","Team Leadership was0.101","Achievements" Guidance was 0.099","Interpersonal understanding and communication was 0.099","Active was 0.096","Self-confidence was0.095",and "Patient service orientation was 0.095".4.The competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit was measured.The Cronbach alpha coefficient and Split-Half reliability of the scale were 0.960 and 0.825,respectively.The Cronbach alpha coefficient and Split-Half reliability of each feature were 0.635 to 0.898 and0.585 to 0.850,respectively.The I-CVI for each item ranged from 0.86 to 1.00.The S-CVI/Ave and S-CVI/UA for scale were 0.9 and 0.87,respectively.The correlation analysis results showed that the correlation coefficient between each feature and the questionnaire was 0.868-0.952(P<0.001).ConclusionIn this study,a qualitative and quantitative method was used to construct the competency scale for clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.The competency scale includes five features,ten primary indicators and thirty-eight secondary indicators.The reliability and validity of the scale are better.The scale has a certain degree of scientificity and can provide scientific basis for hospital administrators to select,evaluate,and train clinical nurses in emergency and intensive care unit.