6^th World Nursing and Healthcare Conference

Biography

Biography: Ching-Yu Cheng

Abstract

Traditionally, clinical competence was measured using self-report scales; however, whether those measurements can reflect acture competence is questioned in literatures. The study was to explore performance-based clinical competence of pregraduate nursing students and hospital nurses using a Computerized Model of Performance-Based Measurement (CMPBM) system. The study was a cross-sectional research design. 52 nurses and 50 students completed the CMPBM that was built based on the Clinical Reasoning Theory with case scenarios and questions to assess performance competence including critical thinking, conflict resolutions, and common clinical technical problems. Results showed that both nurses and students were not highly competent with 53.85% and 32.0% respectively met the satisfactory level of competence of the CMPBM (higher than 70% of the total score). Participants especially had low scores on “collecting data from onsite physical assessment,” “processing information,” “recognizing and prioritizing problems,” and “arranging a course of action for patient care.” They were not competent in solving common technical problems and conflicts as well. Nurses were more competent than students in “considering the patients’ situations,” “collecting data from onsite physical assessment,” “processing information,” “arranging a course of action for patient care,” and “evaluating and reflecting.” The top-three difficult technical skills to perform were performing CPR, reading EKG, and performing venipuncture/starting intravenous lines. The study revealed level of performance competence and deficiencies in competence of nurses and nursing pregraduates. Current academic curriculum/course design for nursing students and orientation/training programs for nurses need to be reviewed to meet the competence needs of nursing pregraduates and nurses.