Investigation of core competencies of newly recruited nurses in military hospital

Objective To evaluate the core competency levels of newly recruited nurses in military hospital and provide the basis for standardization training. Methods A total of 200 newly recruited nurses were surveyed using the scale of Chinese registered nurse core competence questionnaire in July 2016. Results The total score of core competencies of new nurses was (140.91±23.65) , which was in the medium level. The scores of the dimensions were listed from high to low as follows: the legal and ethical practice ability (25.25±5.04) , professional development ability (17.03±4.28) , interpersonal relationships (21.71±5.22) , clinical nursing ability (24.50±7.19) , education and consultation ability (14.12±4.78) , leadership ability (20.45±4.24) , and critical thinking ability (17.85±5.50) . Nurses with different degrees, categories and departments had different levels in core competencies. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusions Newly nurses have low scores of core competencies. The nursing managers should perform individual training on nurses with different degrees, categories and departments to improve the core competency so as to improve the clinical nursing quality. Key words: Nurses; Newly recruited; Core competency; Standardized training