Mila Urrutia

COMPETENCIAS EN INVESTIGACIÓN PARA DIFERENTES NIVELES DE FORMACION DE ENFERMERAS: UNA PERSPECTIVA LATINOAMERICANA

The purpose of this study was to identify the research competencies needed by nurses with bachelor, master and doctoral education. Method: Cross-sectional descriptive design; a survey was sent by email to 200 nurses with a 26% response rate. The instrument contains 33 items listing research competencies in the areas of knowledge, analysis, and application. Each item is rated on a scale with four levels that indicate the extent to which the respondents believe that the competency is needed by each level of formation. Content validity was assessed by experts in the subject area. Test-retest reliability was calculated using the percentage agreement method. Results: The greatest percentage of responses was obtained from Chile, followed by Mexico. A total of 82% of the responses were provided by nurses who were research professors or who guided theses. Competencies considered essential for nurses prepared at the bachelor level included knowledge of the steps of the research process and ability to conduct literature reviews. The main differences identified among the different levels of education were related to items about knowledge of the evolution and trends in nursing research, organizations that fund

Validación de una versión en español de la Escala de Conflicto Decisional

Background: In Chile, in approximately 50% of nursing students, nursing was not their first choice as career. Usually, during the first year, these students must decide whether they would like to continue in the same career. A valid tool is needed to identify decisional conflicts and their contributing factors among these students and to develop an appropriate strategy to support them during their decision-making process. Aim: To translate into Spanish and validate the Generic Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS). Material and methods: The DCS was translated from English to Spanish and was used with 331 first-year nursing students at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile. The scale was assessed for validity and reliability using statistical tests, including factor analysis and Cronbach alpha test. Results: The Spanish version of the DCS had acceptable validity and reliability. Factorial analysis identified four factors and only the item: “advice” loaded the other factors. Cronbach alpha was 0.80. Conclusions: DCS is a valid and useful instrument to identify decisional conflicts and contributing factors to continue studies among nursing students (Rev Med Chile 2008; 136:1439-47). (Key words: Decision makings; Education, nursing; student dropouts)