Clinical practice teaching system for MNS cardiac rehabilitation: Delphi consensus

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Cardiovascular Health
• Healthcare Workforce Development

Background:

• China faces a significant demand for cardiac rehabilitation professionals, exceeding current medical resource capacity.
• Existing higher education programs lack standardized training frameworks for cardiac rehabilitation nursing.
• Master's degree nursing candidates represent a crucial talent pool for this specialty.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized, competency-based clinical training system for cardiac rehabilitation nursing.
• To address the educational gap in higher education for specialized cardiac care nurses.

Main Methods:

• A modified two-round Delphi process was employed, involving 22 cardiac rehabilitation experts.
• Expert feedback was used to refine questionnaires, followed by consensus analysis.
• The process focused on building expert agreement on training competencies.

Main Results:

• High expert engagement was achieved with response rates of 100% in Round 1 and 96% in Round 2.
• Expert authority was deemed acceptable (Cr = 0.83–0.84), with moderate agreement indicated by Kendall's W values (0.13–0.21, p < 0.05).
• A structured framework comprising 5 domains, 29 subdomains, and 85 competency indicators was established.

Conclusions:

• The developed training system is scientifically valid, targeted, and practical for implementation.
• It provides a comprehensive educational framework for master's degree candidates in cardiac rehabilitation nursing.
• This system aims to enhance the quality and standardization of cardiac rehabilitation nursing education.