Assessing Nurses’ Clinical Competence from Their Own Viewpoint and the Viewpoint of Head Nurses: A Descriptive Study

Background & Aim: Studies on nurses' clinical competence and its related contextual factors have controversial and sometimes unexpected results. Regarding the role of nurses' clinical competencies in the quality of nursing care, this study aimed to determine the clinical competency of nurses working in Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan from their own point of view and that of head nurses. Materials & Methods: In this cross- sectional study, in 2017, we analyzed clinical competence of 145 nurses working in different wards of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan, Iran, from their own perspectives and the perspectives of 19 head nurses. The instrument used was Nurse Competence Scale, which is a 73–item questionnaire organized into seven competence categories measuring helping role, teaching–coaching, diagnostic functions, managing situations, therapeutic interventions, ensuring quality and work role. The level of competence was assessed on a scoring scale of 0-100. The frequency of competency utilization in clinical practice was assessed on a four-point Likert scale. Data was analyzed by SPSS-13, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Nurses’ score of clinical competence was 67.08 ± 15.21 from their own viewpoint that was at the good level. They also possessed 77.0 ± 13.14% of competency utilization. However, with a mean score of 78.24 ± 11.80, head nurses believed that they are at the excellent level of clinical competence. A positive correlation was found between nurses' clinical competence and their skill utilization (r = 0.845, P = 0.001). Conclusions: The level of clinical competencies and the extent to which nursing skills are employed by nurses was high from the viewpoint of nurses and head nurses. Moreover, a positive relationship was found between clinical competence and the level of competencies utilization in clinical settings.