Appraisal of the clinical competence of registered nurses in relation to their designated levels in the Western Australian nursing career structure.

This cross-sectional survey examined the relationship of the competence of 529 nurses to their designated career structure levels. The extent of the relationships between nursing education and experience with clinical competence was determined, and attitudes of nurses toward their work environment were measured. Results indicated a wide dispersion in clinical nursing skills and that nurses' designation in the Western Australian Career Structure did not reflect their clinical competence. Clinical experience and education independently exerted a significant effect on competence, but there was no interaction between these variables on increasing competence. Attitudes of the nurses were found to be affected by their work environment.