Approach to Developing a Core Competency Framework for Student Nurses in Saudi Arabia: Results from Delphi Technique

Abstract

Background: Competence, while firmly established as a primary conceptual framework in nursing education, continues to lack clarity and uniformity across borders and contexts. While a wealth of research has been carried out on the various dimensions of this concept, including the drafting and implementation of frameworks for nursing competence, no unifying international framework has been forthcoming. Indeed, the continued development of more localized approaches, based on geography or specialization, would appear to be the most realistic objective. It is incumbent on nurse educationalists and researchers to build on existing frameworks and develop evidence-based tested methodologies for competence assessment in localized contexts. Currently, there is a dearth of such evidence-based frameworks in the Middle East and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in particular. This study aimed to formulate and validate a competence framework for undergraduate nursing students in KSA. Results: Following documentary analysis, framework drafting and a three round Delphi process, a consensus was reached as to elements, comprising six discrete domains, to be included. The identified competence domains provide a framework to guide the implementation of a competence-based assessment and move towards a competency-based curriculum for nursing education in KSA. Conclusions: The study concluded that providing a competency-based model and expanding and standardization of competency concept in different dimensions of nursing profession is a necessity; considering that clarification of the concept of competency, the recognition of its dimensions, characteristics and the factors affecting it help in determining the criteria and standardizing the competency tools.

Competencies expected of undergraduate nursing students: A scoping review

“…Privacy and dignity (Brown & Crookes, 2016), Assertiveness and empathy (Serafin et al, 2020), Altruism (Kennedy et al, 2015), Humanistic (Mallory et al, 2003;Torres-Alzate et al, 2020), Human understanding (Lee et al, 2017), Compassionate (Shaw et al, 2018), Service to the public (Sedgwick et al, 2014;Shaw et al, 2018), Professional values (Blažun et al, 2015;Nilsson et al, 2014), Accountability (Black et al, 2008;Hsu & Hsieh, 2013;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Lin et al, 2016;Mallory et al, 2003;Perng & Watson, 2013;Sedgwick et al, 2014), Ethics (Andrew et al, 2008;Black et al, 2008;Cowan et al, 2008;Hsu & Hsieh, 2013;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Lin et al, 2016;Mallory et al, 2003 Communication (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Berkow et al, 2008;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Candelaria, 2010;Cowan et al, 2008;Hartigan et al, 2010;Ko & Yu, 2019;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2017;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Lin et al, 2016;Lofmark et al, 2006;Mallory et al, 2003;…”

“…Critical analysis (Andrew et al, 2008;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Ossenberg et al, 2016), Ability to use knowledge in practice (Lofmark et al, 2006;Serafin et al, 2020;Yang et al, 2013), Theory & practice (Tommasini et al, 2017), Knowledge-based practice (Black et al, 2008;Sedgwick et al, 2014), Cost effective care (Kukkonen et al, 2020), Ensuring quality (Ko & Yu, 2019;Meretoja et al, 2004), Improving quality of nursing (Kukkonen et al, 2020;Satu et al, 2013), Continuous quality improvement (Liu et al, 2021), Caring (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Cowan et al, 2008;Hsu & Hsieh, 2013;Ko & Yu, 2019;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Lin et al, 2016;Lofmark et al, 2006;Mirza et al, 2019;Nilsson et al, 2014;Perng & Watson, 2013;Poster et al, 2005;Sedgwick et al, 2014;Utley-Smith, 2004;Yang et al, 2013), Apply research to nursing practice (Kukkonen et al, 2020), Research and development (Cowan et al, 2008), Evidence-based practice (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Liu et al, 2021;Prion et al, 2015;Sedgwick et al, 2014) Professional ...…”

“…Informatics and computer technology (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Blažun et al, 2015;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Candelaria, 2010;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2021;Nilsson et al, 2014;Utley-Smith, 2004), Clinical document effectively and accurately (Brown & Crookes, 2016;Candelaria, 2010;Keshk & Mersal, 2017;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Nilsson et al, 2014;Tommasini et al, 2017) Work readiness and professional development N = 115 (28.67%)…”

“…Member of a profession (Brown & Crookes, 2016), Personal characteristics (Brown & Crookes, 2016;Harrison et al, 2020;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Lofmark et al, 2006;Takase & Teraoka, 2011;Yang et al, 2013), Self-regulation (Black et al, 2008;Sedgwick et al, 2014), Continue self-development (Kukkonen et al, 2020), Adaptability and stress management (Lin et al, 2017;Mallory et al, 2003;Serafin et al, 2020;Shaw et al, 2018;Tommasini et al, 2017), Self-management (Ko & Yu, 2019), Openness to development (Serafin et al, 2020), Enabling (Andrew et al, 2008), Professional self-growth (Ličen & Plazar, 2015), Professional attitudes (Harrison et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2017), Professional readiness (Harrison et al, 2020;Liou & Cheng, 2014;Mirza et al, 2019), Personal work readiness (Candelaria, 2010;Meretoja et al, 2004;Walker et al, 2015), Professionalism (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Ossenberg et al, 2016;Satu et al, 2013;Yang et al, 2013), Personal and professional development (Cowan et al, 2008;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Satu et al, 2013;Takase & Teraoka, 2011), Social participation (Brown & Crookes, 2016;Ličen & Plazar, 2015), Social intellige...…”

“…Practical skills (Andrew et al, 2008;Berkow et al, 2008;Blažun et al, 2015;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Clark & Holmes, 2007;Cowan et al, 2008;Harrison et al, 2020;Hartigan et al, 2010;Hsu & Hsieh, 2013;Jacob et al, 2014;Kennedy et al, 2015;Keshk & Mersal, 2017;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2021;Ličen & Plazar, 2015;Lin et al, 2016;Liou & Cheng, 2014;Nilsson et al, 2014;Ossenberg et al, 2016;Perng & Watson, 2013;Ramritu & Barnard, 2001;Satu et al, 2013;Shaw et al, 2018;Tommasini et al, 2017) Safety (n = 9) Patient safety (Attallah & Hasan, 2022;Brown & Crookes, 2016;Kukkonen et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2021;Mirza et al, 2019;Prion et al, 2015), Safety practice (Keshk & Mersal, 2017;Ramritu & Barnard, 2001), Safety planning (Nilsson et al, 2014) Preventative health services (n = 9)…”