Nursing Open (Nov 2020)

The gerontological nurse specialist’s core competencies in China: A cross‐sectional study

  • Bai Chunlan,
  • Pu Lihui,
  • Chen Hongxiu,
  • Hu Xiuying

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.583
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 6
pp. 1928 – 1935

Abstract

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Abstract Aim To describe the core competencies of gerontological nurse specialists and investigate the factors that contribute to the development of core competencies. Design A descriptive cross‐sectional study was conducted from August 2015–March 2016. Methods The descriptive study of gerontological nurse specialists’ core competencies used a self‐assessment instrument with three first‐level domains (attitude, skill and knowledge) and 9 s‐level dimensions. A total of 225 gerontological nurse specialists from ten provinces in China were selected by a convenience sampling method. Results The average core competency score of the gerontological nurse specialists was 3.78, in the middle level(3.30–4.17/5.00). Core competency was associated with gerontological nurse specialists’ age (p = .005), professional title (p = .017), hospital level (p = .006) and passion for geriatric nursing (p = .000). The average scores of attitude, skill and knowledge were 4.45, 4.02 and 4.18, respectively. All first‐level domains were related to age (p ≤ .021) and passion for geriatric nursing (p ≤ .008); knowledge and skill were associated with professional title (p ≤ .045) and attitude and skill were associated with hospital level (p ≤ .020).

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