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Critical clinical competencies in undergraduate psychiatric-mental health nursing
Fredricka Leigh Gilje1, Patsy Mae Ellen Klose, C Judith Birger
1University of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing, AK 99508-4614, USA. afflg@uaa.alaska.edu
Abstract:
Clinical competencies in nursing education provide the foundation for the development of competencies in nursing practice. Literature pertaining to clinical competencies in psychiatric-mental health nursing is extremely sparse. The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' perceptions of undergraduate students' critical clinical competencies. A purposive sample of 18 nurses with experience in psychiatric care and nursing education completed a 198-item survey, which included eight criterion-referenced critical clinical competencies. The results, in which 80% of items were rated strongly agree or agree, have implications for nursing education, practice, and research. The results support the use of the items in the instrument as a pedagogical tool, as a guide in assessing and evaluating students' clinical performance, and as a guide for novice faculty and practitioners. Further research about critical clinical competencies in psychiatric-mental health nursing is needed.
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