Abstract
BackgroundModern nursing requires a broad set of academic and practical skills, and an effective nurse must integrate these skills in a wide range of healthcare contexts. Cultivation of core competencies has recently become a key issue globally in the development of nursing education. To assess the performance of new nurses, this study developed a nursing-specific Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) to evaluate the effect of postgraduate year (PGY) nurse training programs in Taiwan.MethodsA nursing-specific Mini-CEX was developed based on the required core competencies of nurses. Reliability and validity were confirmed in evaluator workshops carried out prior to the administration of the pilot test and final test. Thirty-two PYG trainees were recruited with a supervisor-to-trainee ratio of 1:1.94. Data were collected from February to June 2012 and analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.ResultsThe 32 PGY trainees scored highest in the “nursing professionalism” dimension and the lowest in the “physical examination” dimension. The overall competency score was satisfactory. The trainee nurses with 19–24 months of experience scored higher than the other two groups in overall performance.ConclusionThe results of this research indicate the feasibility of using our Mini-CEX tool to evaluate the competencies of PGY trainees.
Highlights
Modern nursing requires a broad set of academic and practical skills, and an effective nurse must integrate these skills in a wide range of healthcare contexts [1]
Study design The instrument was devised and tested in six phases: (1) The nursing-specific Mini-CEX instrument was developed according to nurses’ core competencies as defined by expert interviews and extant literature; (2) An initial workshop for evaluators was held prior to the pilot test to insure inter-rater reliability; (3) A pilot test on a group of new nurses was held to provide feedback for reevaluation; (4) Workshops were held for evaluators before the main study; (5) Cross-sectional observations were launched to measure the competencies of new nurses from the perspective of instructors; and (6) Descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to examine the postgraduate year (PGY) trainees’ Mini-CEX scores based on the duration of their training
In addition to the definition of core competencies provided by the Taiwan Nursing Accreditation Council (TNAC) [6, 25], this study considered the core competencies of new nurses as defined by other entities, such as the Flying Start program [14], the Transition to Practice program [15], and the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA) [29]
Summary
Modern nursing requires a broad set of academic and practical skills, and an effective nurse must integrate these skills in a wide range of healthcare contexts. Cultivation of core competencies has recently become a key issue globally in the development of nursing education. To assess the performance of new nurses, this study developed a nursing-specific Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) to evaluate the effect of postgraduate year (PGY) nurse training programs in Taiwan. New nursing school graduates often find the transition into independent clinical practice challenging, especially in the first year. Studies show that they often struggle to prioritize patient care, recognize and manage patient problems, understand the rationale for approaches to these problems, and communicate constructively with both the care team and patients [1, 2]. To help equip postgraduate year (PGY) trainees with the necessary competencies, three issues must be addressed.
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