[NIC as a tool for assessing competences of nursing students in clinical placement at surgical units]

This paper shows the utility of a NIC standardized language to assess the extent of nursing student skills at Practicum in surgical units

To identify the nursing interventions classification (NIC) that students can learn to perform in surgical units. To determine the level of difficulty in learning interventions, depending on which week of rotation in clinical placement the student is.

Qualitative study using Delphi consensus technique, involving nurses with teaching experience who work in hospital surgical units, where students undertake the Practicum. The results were triangulated through a questionnaire to tutors about the degree of conformity.

A consensus was reached about the interventions that students can achieve in surgical units and the frequency in which they can be performed. The level of difficulty of each intervention, and the amount of weeks of practice that students need to reach the expected level of competence was also determined.

The results should enable us to design better rotations matched to student needs. Knowing the frequency of each intervention that is performed in each unit determines the chances of learning it, as well as the indicators for its assessment.