Towards a competency assessment tool for nurses in ethics meetings.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Professional Competence
• Healthcare Education

Background:

• Nurses require specific competencies for effective participation in ethics meetings.
• A defined competency profile for nurses in ethics meetings is lacking in current literature.
• Assessing nurses' existing competence in ethics meetings is challenging without a clear profile.

Purpose of the Study:

• To corroborate an existing profile of requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes for nurses in ethics meetings.
• To contribute to the development of a tool for assessing nursing competence in ethics meetings.
• To validate the competency profile through a quantitative follow-up study.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was developed to assess nurses' recognition of a previously identified competency profile.
• The survey was distributed to subscribers of digital newsletters from three prominent Dutch nursing journals.
• Data collection and analysis were conducted in the spring of 2013, ensuring voluntary and anonymous participation.

Main Results:

• Nurses with prior experience in ethics meetings largely recognized the knowledge, skills, and attitudes from the competency profile when presented in the survey.
• The findings indicate a high degree of agreement among experienced nurses regarding the essential components of ethics meeting competence.

Conclusions:

• Despite a small sample size, the study results align with known characteristics of nurses actively participating in ethics meetings.
• The validated competency profile can inform the recruitment and preparation of nurses for professional ethics in nursing care.
• This work supports the development of assessment tools to measure nursing competence in ethics meetings.