Perceived level of competence among staff nurses in selected hospitals in Roxas City

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the perceived level of competence among staff nurses in selected hospitals in Roxas City. Specifically, the study described the characteristics of staff nurses in terms of sex, age, area of assignment, type of hospital, length of experience, and number of trainings attended, the level of competence in general and in Nursing Practice Standard Domains in particular, and the difference existed between these variables. The study population included 153 staff nurses who were hired as reliever, casual, probationary or regular nurses and receives monetary compensation for services rendered in wards and special areas. The descriptive correlational study utilized a standardized performance evaluation tool and analyzed using frequency count, percentage, mean, t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and post hoc. Majority of the nurses are females; their mean age is 27.07 years, the average length of experience is 3.35 years with a higher proportion having 1-2 years of experience and 1-2 number of trainings. The average number of trainings is 2.65 years. There are almost equal proportions of nurses working in public and private hospitals. Majority of nurses have high perceived level of competence of the four standards in Value-Based Nursing Practice, Knowledge-Driven Nursing Practice, Outcome-Oriented Professional Relationships, and Leadership and Governance. Generally, a large majority of nurses perceived a high level of competence. Perceived level of competence was found to significantly vary when the nurses were grouped according to area of assignment but not when they are grouped according to sex, age, type of hospital, length of experience, and number of trainings attended. Nurses assigned in the private and pediatric wards exhibited a significantly higher perceived level of competence compared to nurses in the other areas of assignment. Nurses assigned in the private and pediatric wards exhibited significantly higher perceived level of competence compared to nurses in the other areas of assignment.