Abstract:

Healthcare professionals play an important role in today’s society. Due to demographic changes, the demand for qualified nursing staff will continue to grow in many European countries. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find people interested in training as nurses and to attract and motivate qualified people to a profession that involves high levels of mental and physical stress and often difficult working conditions (dealing with reluctant patients, being confronted with suffering and dying, arguing with angry or anxious patients and even their relatives, dealing with medical emergencies, shift work, tight working schedules, lack of social esteem).

The challenges in nursing education are enormous. These include, in particular, the instructional interaction with heterogeneous learning groups in terms of cognitive and social resources, the cultural backgrounds of nursing students, and the different learning opportunities associated with different care settings (e.g., home care, clinical care). They are compounded by the increasing cognitive, social, and personal demands associated with medical and technological advances and raising expectations of patients and their families. These increasing demands on the professional and interdisciplinary skills of nursing staff must be adequately addressed in their training. In order to evaluate training effectiveness and to develop it further on an evidence-based approach, valid diagnostic instruments are necessary that accompany and complete the training process.

As part of a research project, competence measurement instruments were developed to measure:
(1) professional competence in patient care,
(2) interprofessional cooperation competence and
(3) the stress coping competence.

These instruments allow for a simulated, work-related assessment in a digital test environment. The competence data thus provides insights into training effectivity and weaknesses in the training.

The presented statistical analyses of these competency data examine which groups were or were not able to achieve the curricular goals of their training. In addition, they identify potential causes of varying learning outcomes by focusing on inequalities in learning opportunities. Special attention is given to the differences between migrant and non-migrant learners, as language barriers can be a serious problem in the acquisition of skills.

In addition, different training areas in nursing (outpatient nursing, inpatient clinical nursing, and inpatient geriatric nursing) might provide more or less fertile grounds for learning. The comparative analyses are conducted while controlling for individual cognitive resources. Implications for improving nursing education are discussed with reference to their results.

Keywords:

Nursing Profession, Competences of Patient Care, Stress Coping Competences, Interprofessional Cooperation Competences, Inequalities in Skill Acquisition.