Abstract:

Background:
The challenge of training nursing workforce is the lack of shared understanding of specific fundamental competencies for professional nurses.

Purpose:
The present study examined nursing directors’ understandings of expected fundamental competencies for professional nurses at their nursing practice.

Methods:
This study conducted an interview survey on directors of nursing and other managers concerning the fundamental skills required in a nurse in real nursing situations – or in other words, what they should be able to do in what situations.
Participants were 5 nursing directors who work for hospitals with more than 500 beds. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with nursing directors to explore their understandings and expectations of fundamental competencies for professional nurses. We employed a text-mining approach and combined it with semantic network analysis tools.

Result:
Results revealed 9 clusters. Cluster 5, common basic abilities, is in the center of the map, consisting of 3 characteristics: the ability to take action, the ability to think through and the ability to work in a team. In the top section of the map, 4 abilities are clustered: ability to entrust, ability to cooperate, the ability of planning and managing a project, and the ability to grasp the whole situation. These 4 clusters are team-oriented abilities. In the bottom section of the map, 4 abilities are clustered: the ability to verbalize one’s own thoughts, the ability to develop, the ability to apply and the ability to break free from existing thought patterns. These 4 clusters are individual attributes. These three clusters were suggested as the central competencies among fundamental skills required in nurses.
For team-oriented abilities, Cluster 6 may position close to Cluster 4, because “reliance (delegation)” may result in “collaboration”. Abilities to delegate and collaborate enable organizational strategies as a result. As for individuals’ way of thinking, on the other hand, the proximity of Cluster 1 and Cluster 7 suggests the possibility that an ability to voice one’s own opinions may eventually enable the one to develop their own opinions. The presence of Cluster 9 on the outer rim indicates the possible connection between the ability to develop with the ability to apply. The presence of Cluster 3 on the further outer rim supposedly lead to a notion that the combination of these abilities may enable a nurse to think out of the box (present situation).To identify relationships among these abilities is crucial in nurturing fundamental skills required in a nurse. The following observations can be derived from the positional relationships and distances between the clusters:
The other clusters positioned closest to Cluster 5 were Cluster 4 <reliable (delegable)> and Cluster 7 <able to present own opinion>. Cluster 4 is an ability geared towards group work, while Cluster 7 is a characteristic pertaining to individuals’ way of thinking.

Keywords:

fundamental competencies, professional nurses, challenge of training.