Riitta-Liisa Lakanmaa

Competence requirements in intensive and critical care nursing – Still in need of definition? A Delphi study

BACKGROUND Empirical studies in competence are lacking in the field of intensive and critical care nursing. OBJECTIVE To identify competence requirements, by soliciting the views of intensive care unit nurses and physicians. METHODS Two rounds of the Delphi method were used in 2006 in Finland. Data were analysed by content analysis and with descriptive statistics. RESULTS Competence requirements in intensive and critical care nursing can be divided into five main domains: knowledge base, skill base, attitude and value base, nursing experience base and personal base of the nurse. Four of these domains can be found in the existing requirements and one new domain - personal base of the nurse - was identified. CONCLUSIONS Competence requirements are multidimensional. Earlier descriptions of competence are not sufficient; more comprehensive and cohesive descriptions are needed. The personal base of a nurse should also be included in the competence requirements in intensive and critical care nursing.

Collaboration: a SWOT analysis of the process of conducting a review of nursing workforce policies in five European countries.

AIM This paper critically reviews the literature on international collaboration and analyses the collaborative process involved in producing a nursing workforce policy analysis. BACKGROUND Collaboration is increasingly promoted as a means of solving shared problems and achieving common goals; however, collaboration creates its own opportunities and challenges. Evidence about the collaboration process, its outcomes and critical success factors is lacking. METHODS A literature review and content analysis of data collected from six participants (from five European countries) members of the European Academy of Nursing Science Scholar Collaborative Workforce Workgroup, using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis template. RESULTS Two major factors affecting scholarly collaboration were identified: Facilitators, which incorporated personal attributes and enabling contexts/mechanisms, including individual commitment, responsibility and teamwork, facilitative supportive structures and processes. The second, Barriers, incorporated unmet needs for funding; time; communication and impeding contexts/mechanisms, including workload and insufficient support/mentorship. CONCLUSIONS The literature review identified a low level of evidence on collaboration processes, outcomes, opportunities and challenges. The SWOT analysis identified critical success factors, planning strategies and resources of effective international collaboration. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Collaboration is an important concept for management. Evidence-based knowledge of the critical success factors facilitating and impeding collaboration could help managers make collaboration more effective.

Competence Assessment Instruments in Perianesthesia Nursing Care: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Purpose: To identify competence assessment instruments in perianesthesia nursing care and to describe the validity and reliability of the instruments. Design: A scoping review in a systematic manner. Methods: A search in CINAHL, MEDLINE, and ERIC was carried out to identify empirical studies from 1994 to 2015. A narrative synthesis approach was undertaken to analyze the data. Findings: Nine competence assessment instruments in perianesthesia nursing care were identified. The instruments used three types of data collection methods: Self‐report, observation, and written examinations. The most commonly reported validity method was content validity involving expert panels and reliability tests for internal consistency and inter‐raters consistency. Conclusions: Integrating more than one data collection method may give support to overcoming some of the limitations, such as lack of objectivity and misinterpretation of the assessment results. In an ever‐changing environment, perianesthesia nursing competence requires constant reassessment from the perspective of content validity, scoring methods, and reliability.