Evaluation of the clinical competency level among nurses working in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences affiliated hospitals

Introduction:Nurses form build up the greatest portion of health care providers and play a central role in maintaining medical care. Determining the clinical competence level of nurses is an important issue in maintaining standards of care, identifying the educational needs and professional development of nurses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical competency level of nurses who work in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences affiliated hospitals, in 2014. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 204 nurses working in five educational hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Samples were selected based on cluster randomization. The study instruments included demographic information questionnaire and Benner Clinical Competence Questionnaire (CCQ). Data analysis was performed using the SPSS v 16 software. Results: The mean and standard deviation for age and work experience of the subjects were 33.55 ± 6.17 and 9.31 ± 5.74 years, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the total clinical competency score was 69.56 ± 10.74. The mean score for helping the patient component was 68.11 ± 14.06, training and guidance component was 69.81 ± 11.63, diagnostic measures component was 70.65 ± 15.5, management skills component was 71.04 ± 12.63, therapeutic measures component was 70.56 ± 12.47, quality assurance was 68.32 ± 14.59, and occupational and organizational tasks component was 70.85 ± 11.81. Conclusion: The clinical competence of most samples was categorized as good. According to the results of this study, researchers suggest that clinical competency assessment of nurses should be programmed and performed annually.