Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Nursing Center of Excellence, Ascension, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Nurs Open. 2024 Oct;11(10):e70047. doi: 10.1002/nop2.70047.
Guided by Benner's framework, From Novice to Expert, this study aimed to identify (1) critical soft skills to be evaluated in nurses and (2) levels of nursing behaviour indicating achievement of soft skills to provide a framework for developing a soft skills rubric.
BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION: Nurse shortages are often attributable to high turnover rates among nurses. To improve this situation, healthcare facilities implement transition programmes and continuing education with a primary focus on developing and maintaining nurses' knowledge and performance (hard skills). However, balancing hard and soft skills (beliefs, values and attitudes) is key to nurses' quality of care and ultimately to their retention. Despite the importance of soft skills, their intangible nature creates problems in evaluating nurses' attainment of these skills and in providing constructive feedback to help them set concrete goals for improving their practice.
This qualitative descriptive study described critical soft skills in the nursing context. A purposeful sampling strategy was used to enrol 13 clinical nurse educators from multiple hospital units; each had more than 2 years of clinical nurse educator experience and had completed preceptor training. One-to-one interviews with these individuals were audio recorded, transcribed and subjected to direct content analysis using NVivo 12. The study follows the Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines for qualitative studies.
Five main competencies, comprising 20 subcompetencies, were identified: personal growth, effective interactions, professionalism, teamwork and the caring role. For each subcompetency, four skill levels were delineated using clinical indicators.
This study's findings can enhance understanding of clinical nurse educators' perceptions regarding soft skills required of nurses.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: The soft skills identified can be incorporated into a rubric to be used by clinical nurse educators to evaluate and guide nurses' professional development and contribute to improving quality of care. No patient or public contribution is required for this study.
本研究以本纳的从新手到专家框架为指导，旨在确定（1）需要评估的护士关键软技能，以及（2）表明软技能达到水平的护理行为，为制定软技能评分表提供框架。
背景/引言：护士短缺通常归因于护士离职率高。为了改善这种情况，医疗机构实施过渡计划和继续教育，主要侧重于培养和维持护士的知识和绩效（硬技能）。然而，平衡硬技能和软技能（信念、价值观和态度）是护士护理质量的关键，最终是他们留任的关键。尽管软技能很重要，但由于其无形性质，在评估护士获得这些技能的程度以及为帮助他们设定具体目标以改进实践提供建设性反馈方面存在问题。
本定性描述性研究描述了护理背景下的关键软技能。采用目的抽样策略招募了来自多个医院科室的 13 名临床护士教育者；每位教育者都有超过 2 年的临床护士教育者经验，并完成了导师培训。对这些人进行了一对一的访谈，录音、转录，并使用 NVivo 12 进行直接内容分析。该研究遵循定性研究的统一报告标准（COREQ）指南。
确定了五个主要能力，包括 20 个子能力：个人成长、有效互动、专业精神、团队合作和关怀角色。对于每个子能力，使用临床指标划定了四个技能水平。
本研究的结果可以增强对临床护士教育者对护士所需软技能的看法的理解。
对专业和/或患者护理的影响：确定的软技能可以纳入评分表，由临床护士教育者用于评估和指导护士的专业发展，并有助于提高护理质量。本研究不需要患者或公众的贡献。
