Abstract
BackgroundTo enable safe and successful recovery for surgery patients, nurses working in post-anaesthesia care units need competence in postoperative care. No consensus defines what this specific competence includes, and it has not been studied from the perspective of nurses working in post-anaesthesia care units. The aim of this study is twofold: 1) To explore and describe nurses’ perception of the competence needed to work in post-anaesthesia care units. 2) To explore and describe nurses’ perception of what characterizes an expert nurse in post-anaesthesia care units.MethodsThis qualitative inductive study uses individual interviews. Sixteen nurses were recruited from two post-anaesthesia care units located in different parts of Sweden. Inclusion criteria were nurses employed in the post-anaesthesia care units for ≥1 years.Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted; data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsThe interview analysis identified six subthemes and three themes. The themes being adaptable in an ever-changing environment and creating safe care represent the overarching meaning of competence required when working as a nurse in a Swedish post-anaesthesia care unit. Nurses must possess various technical and nontechnical skills, which are core competences that are described in the sub-themes. The theme seeing the bigger picture describes the nurse’s perception of an expert nurse in the post-anaesthesia care unit.ConclusionsNurse competence in post-anaesthesia care units entails specific knowledge, acknowledging the patient, and working proactively at a fast pace with the patient and team to provide safe, high-quality care. An expert nurse in post-anaesthesia care units can see the bigger picture, helping share knowledge and develop post-anaesthesia care. The expert competence to see a bigger picture can be used in supervising novices and creating a knowledge base for postgraduate education in order to promote safe, high-quality post-anaesthesia care.
Highlights
To enable safe and successful recovery for surgery patients, nurses working in post-anaesthesia care units need competence in postoperative care
The expert competence to see a bigger picture can be used in supervising novices and creating a knowledge base for postgraduate education in order to promote safe, high-quality post-anaesthesia care
There is inconsistency in definitions of nurse competence, competence can be defined as the “possession of required skill, knowledge, qualification, or capacity” [1] or “a skill that you need in a particular job or for a particular task” [2]
Summary
To enable safe and successful recovery for surgery patients, nurses working in post-anaesthesia care units need competence in postoperative care. No consensus defines what this specific competence includes, and it has not been studied from the perspective of nurses working in post-anaesthesia care units. The aim of this study is twofold: 1) To explore and describe nurses’ perception of the competence needed to work in post-anaesthesia care units. 2) To explore and describe nurses’ perception of what characterizes an expert nurse in post-anaesthesia care units. It is important to note that nurse competence is not a goal but a journey, consistent with Benner’s novice to expert model, which describes five levels of competence based on knowledge and skill acquisition [5]. As nurses acquire deeper knowledge and skills, they move through five competence levels: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Competence is situational and context specific, and highlighting and defining the expert nurse level clarifies for nurses at lower competence levels what to strive for to attain the expert nurse level of competence [5]
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