The purpose of this study was to compare self-report the performance and changes of nursing competency of nurses in a medical center in their first year and two years later. The longitudinal research design was adapted as a guide for this study. Fifty-six nurses were surveyed, using a 91-item questionnaire, divided into three competence categories. The first survey was taken three months after the nurses entered the hospital and then again two years later. Over the two-year study nurses reported a significant increases not only in their overall level of comompetence (13.17%, p<.001), but also in the specific areas of clinical techniques (13.67%), administrative skills (11.58%), and teaching and research skills (14.18%). The second survey's mean scores for clinical techniques, administrative skills, teaching and research skills were 3.98±0.44, 3.86±0.50, and 3.23±0.54 respectively. These results can be used as a references when revising nurse training programs in the future to improve a facility's nursing quality.
The purpose of this study was to compare self-report the performance and changes of nursing competency of nurses in a medical center in their first year and two years later. The longitudinal research design was adapted as a guide for this study. Fifty-six nurses were surveyed, using a 91-item questionnaire, divided into three competence categories. The first survey was taken three months after the nurses entered the hospital and then again two years later. Over the two-year study nurses reported a significant increases not only in their overall level of comompetence (13.17%, p<.001), but also in the specific areas of clinical techniques (13.67%), administrative skills (11.58%), and teaching and research skills (14.18%). The second survey's mean scores for clinical techniques, administrative skills, teaching and research skills were 3.98±0.44, 3.86±0.50, and 3.23±0.54 respectively. These results can be used as a references when revising nurse training programs in the future to improve a facility's nursing quality.