Clinical Skills Performed By Iranian Emergency Nurses: Perceived Competency Levels and Attitudes Toward Expanding...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Emergency Care
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Emergency nurses are crucial for critical care.
• Assessing clinical skills and competency is vital for patient safety.
• Understanding emergency nurses' perceptions is key to improving care.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate clinical skill frequency in Iranian emergency nurses.
• Assess perceived competency levels among these nurses.
• Examine attitudes towards expanding professional roles.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive correlational study.
• 319 emergency nurses from 30 hospitals in northwest Iran.
• Self-report questionnaire and statistical analysis.

Main Results:

• Overall perceived competency was good (73.31 ± 14.2).
• Most frequent skills: organizational, diagnostic, and helping roles.
• Least frequent skills: managing rapid changes and therapeutic interventions.
• Significant positive correlation between skill frequency and perceived competence (r = 0.651, P < .001).
• Positive attitudes towards role expansion (81.5% agreed it improves job satisfaction).

Conclusions:

• Higher perceived competence is associated with more frequent skill performance.
• Implications for nurse managers and educators to provide more training.
• Role expansion may increase clinical experience and competency.
• Further research using observed measures is recommended.