The professional nursing competence ladder system can effectively inspire nurses' work morale, improve quality of life, and avoid the issue of senior staff leaving the clinical setting. The aim of this study was to explore the willingness to participate in the professional nursing competence ladder system and its related factors among nurses. A cross-sectional study design with a structured questionnaire was used. Purposive sampling was employed, and 696 nurses who qualified to be promoted as N2 were recruited from a medical center in southern Taiwan. The results showed most nurses were willing to participate in the nursing ladder system. There were significant differences between willingness to participate in the ladder system and age, education level, as well as promotion experience. This study emphasizes the importance of intensifying internal encouraging factors and strengthening external encouraging factors to improve participation rates. Healthcare institutions could provide instruction on case report writing to increase nurses' willingness to participate in the clinical ladder program.
Keywords: clinical ladder systems; level of satisfaction; motivation; professional competence.