COMPETENCIES OF PEDIATRIC NURSES

Abstract

Abstract

This descriptive research using the Delphi technique to study the competency of pediatric nurses. The subjects of the study were 20 experts from multi-disciplinaries, such as 4 nurse administrators from the professional organization, 5 advanced pediatric nurse practitioners, 4 pediatric nurse instructors, 4 nurse specialists, and 3 pediatricians. The research comprised 3 steps: Step 1: interview regarding the competency of pediatric nurses; Step 2: content analysis and literature review in order to develop the Competency of Pediatric Nurses Questionnaire. Then, the questionnaire was sent to all experts to rate their opinions; Step 3: Data analysis using median and interquartile range. The questionnaire with median and interquartile range of each item was sent to all previous experts for their confirmation. The data were analyzed again using median and interquartile range to summarize the final finding. The result showed that the competencies of pediatric nurses consisted of 5 domains (34 items), which were 1) Nursing practice (14 items), 2) Education (4 items), 3) Consultation (5 items), 4) Co-ordination (5 items), and 5) Quality improvement and research (6 items). Nurse administrators could apply this findings for developing and evaluating pediatric nurse competency.