Purpose: To develop a methodology for identifying the universal nursing competencies required for registered nurses (RNs).
Design: A mixed-methods approach was used.
Methods: The research in this article entails a combination of different methodological approaches, namely the Delphi technique and an empirical quantitative nonexperimental study. A total of 14 experts with credentials in the nursing field participated in the former. Consensus was defined as at least 80% agreement. Subsequently, a purposive sample of 321 RNs participated in the empirical quantitative nonexperimental study. The data were collected during 2014.
Findings: In the study's first stage, 39 professional nursing competencies were identified using the Delphi technique. In the second stage, factor analysis resulted in seven factors: professional nursing clinical practice; professional communication and quality in nursing; determinants of health and safety in nursing; critical thinking and self-planning of professional work; new knowledge and knowledge transfer in nursing; management and coordination in nursing; and nursing research. Together they explain 74.9% of the variance.
Conclusions and clinical relevance: In the future, the identification of the national nursing competencies should be considered. The study has some limitations; however, the proposed methodology revealed in this study may be the first step in overcoming them.
Keywords: Clinical practice; Delphi technique; nursing; professional competency.
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