Newly graduated nurses' perception of competence and possible predictors: a cross-sectional survey

The aim of this study was to describe newly graduated nurses' own perception of competence and to identify possible predictors influencing their perceptions. The target population included nurses who graduated from nursing colleges in June 2006. Data collection was carried out from October 2006 until April 2007 using the Nurse Competence Scale (NCS), the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, and the Research Utilization Questionnaire. The response rate was 33% (n = 620). Pearson's chi-square test, Student t test, and regression analyses were used for statistical calculations. The respondents assessed their overall competence level as "good" and assessed themselves most competent in providing ethical and individualized nursing care. They assessed themselves least competent in evaluating outcomes and further development of patient care. Their use of competence explained between 40% (helping) and 10% (managing) of the variance within the NCS competence categories. Critical thinking (CT) was the most prominent predictor for perception of competence in all competence categories and the overall competence, alone explaining between 20% (NCS total score) and 9% (managing) of the variance. The finding that CT was a significant predictor for perception of competence may indicate that developing nursing students' CT abilities is valuable to increase newly graduated nurses' perception of competence.