Self-reported clinical practice readiness of nurses graduating from India: A cross-sectional survey in Uttarakhand

Considering lack of data on clinical acumen and clinical practice readiness of graduating nurses in India; this cross-sectional survey was undertaken to assess the self-reported clinical practice readiness of graduating nurses from a selected state in India.

The survey was conducted at randomly selected public and private nursing institutes in Uttarakahnd, India, during June-July 2017. Total 173 final-year nursing undergraduates were selected through cluster sampling technique and they were asked to report their clinical competencies using a prevalidated and reliable tool, i.e. Comprehensive Nursing Competencies Questionnaire.

The mean competencies score for basic nursing skills was reasonably high (236.5 ± 25.0). However, it was significantly low for the advanced nursing skills (148.7 ± 25.6) and selected basic nursing tasks such as perioperative care, elimination related interventions, and handling of medical equipment (recoding electrocardiogram and using defibrillator). Graduating nurses with younger age and longer duration of clinical placement had higher mean competency score in basic as well as advanced nursing skills (P < 0.05). Whereas, nurses studying at private nursing institutes had lower mean competency score for advanced nursing skills (P = 0.001).

Clinical practice readiness of graduating nurses for basic nursing skills is good. However, it is seriously poor for the advanced nursing skills. This could be because of lack of sufficient clinical learning material, experienced clinical nursing faculty, and poorly equipped nursing skill labs. Nursing regulatory bodies must regularly monitor and ensure that deficiencies are rectified and nursing faculty remain clinically updated and active to produce clinically competent nurses.