A multicenter survey of the competency status and influencing factors of nurses in ClassIII hospitals

Abstract

Objective To investigate the status quo of core competency of registered nurses in Class Ⅲ hospitals and analyze the influencing factors. Methods The study was carried out in seven ClassⅢ hospitals in four provinces, including Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu, Hebei and Hubei Province, involving 2 068 registered nurses. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the nurses' Core Competency Scale (CIRN) and the Clinical Nurse Communication Ability Scale. Results The average CIRN score of the nurses from seven ClassⅢ hospitals was (159.24±29.837) , with the scoring rate of 68.63%. The average score of communication skills of nurse was (80.83±11.912) , with the scoring rate of 72.17%. The results of one-way ANOVA showed that nurses' age, basic education background, level of position, length of employment, self-directed learning and nurses with frequent training had influences on the scores of nurses' competency inventory (P<0.05) . The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that nurses' core competence, education background and frequency of training had influences on the scores of nurses' competency inventory (P<0.05) . Conclusions The core competency of the nurses in ClassⅢ hospitals is at a medium level. Nurses' core competency is closely related to communication skills. Nursing managers should pay attention to the development of nurses' core competency. Key words: Nurses; Multicenter study; Core competency; Communication skills