APPLY A COMPETENCY EVALUATION MEASURES FOR OPERATING ROOM NURSES IN MATERNITY HOSPITAL

Assist. Prof. Eman M. Goweily*

ABSTRACT

Objective: To develop a scientific and reasonable competence evaluation index system for operating room nurses (ORN) in in Maternity hospital. Methods: A multiple-method approach including in-depth interviews in maternity hospital and Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used. Eighteen interviews were undertaken to explore the components of ORN competencies, and then 30 operating room experts were consulted to gain consensus. Finally, the AHP was adopted to determine the relative weights of competency elements, thus increasing the accuracy of the results. Results: Results of the interviews suggested that there were 32 items of ORN core competency. Results of the DHP (Delphi and AHP) revealed 22 ORN core competencies in four dimensions, such as specialized knowledge, professional ability, personality and self-motivation. The weights of these four dimensions were 0.477, 0.138, 0.256, and 0.128, respectively. Conclusions: The construction of an ORN core competency evaluation index system in this study contained not only explicit competence but also implicit competence, which reflected the requirements for operating room nurses comprehensively in maternity hospital. In particular, as the system presented the specialized features of an operating room, it would be of great importance for both nurses and hospitals.

Keywords: Competency, Operating room, Nurses, Nursing, Delphi, Evaluation measure.