Construction of competent characteristic system and level standard model for orthopedic specialized nurses

Abstract

Objective To establish competent characteristic system and a level standard model for orthopedic specialized nurses. Methods From October 2016 to March 2017, a total of 40 medical and nursing specialists from 10 provinces and cities were selected by convenience sampling methods as specialist consultants. Two rounds of Delphi specialist consultation were conducted on 7 primary indexes and 58 secondary indexes of the competent characteristic system for orthopedic specialized nurses which was primarily confirmed by literature search. The index names were modified, merged or deleted according to experts' opinion and statistical analysis results. At last, 12 experts in Beijing area were selected, and the typical behavior event interview method was adopted to determine the level standards of the secondary indexes. Results The experts' authority coefficient was 0.91. The effective recovery rates of questionnaires of the two rounds expert consultation were 95.00% and 92.11% respectively. The primary indexes consists of 7 indicators: clinical decision (0.150 0) , nursing practice (0.154 3) , management (0.135 6) , communication (0.142 2) , legal ethics (0.128 9) , professional development (0.136 4) and education (0.132 2) . Twenty-eight items of secondary index were confirmed, and Likert Scale was applied to determine the level standards of secondary index and describe typical behavior. Level 1 to 5 of Likert Scale was corresponding to the levels to orthopedic specialist nurse's career planning respectively, including entry-level, qulified, competent, proficient, and expert level. Conclusions The evaluation indicators recommended in specialist consultation meet the specialized nurse competent characteristics, and quantitative evaluation of specialized nurses can be achieved by the level standard system. The evaluation and level standard system can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the subjects, to achieve evaluation, education, management and career planning for orthopedic specialized nurse. Key words: Hospitals, osteopathic; Orthopedic nursing; Specialized nurse; Competency; Career planning; Delphi method