To psychometrically validate a comprehensive core competence (3C) instrument to measure the core competence of healthcare professionals in clinical settings.
Instrument development and validation study.
This study focused on the fourth phase of instrument development and validation, which involves refining the scale and assessing its psychometric properties. Secondary data from self-reported assessments of core competency levels by healthcare professionals (628 nurses and 450 physicians) working at healthcare institutions in Oman were used. Structural validity was examined via exploratory factor analysis using oblique rotation (Promax). The stability of factorial validity was assessed through transformation analysis and invariance testing using confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha.
The development and validation process produced a 3C instrument including 39 items across 11 factors: research and innovation (4 items), patient sustainable care (5 items), strategic leadership (4 items), safety promotion (3 items), tech integration (3 items), quality excellence (4 items), collaborative care delivery (4 items), professional growth (3 items), communication excellence (3 items), ethics and compliance (3 items) and professional practice (3 items). The instrument explained 65.3% and 67.6% of the total observed variance for nurses and physicians, respectively, with Cronbach's alpha for each component above the minimum acceptable value of 0.70.
The 3C instrument, developed through structured validation, comprehensively assesses healthcare professionals' core competencies, bridging the gap in existing tools with robust psychometric properties.
Healthcare professionals must develop robust and versatile core competencies to address increasing quality and safety patient care demands, escalating costs, unsustainable delivery models and rising stakeholder expectations. The developed 3C instrument is valuable for (1) comprehensively assessing core competencies, (2) suggesting an immediate and short-term action plan and (3) stimulating policies to drive the transformation of the delivery system over the longer term.
No patient or public contribution.
To investigate the perceptions of family members (FMs) of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and nurses on empowering support and its implementation during the acute phase within Finnish neurosurgical and neurological care in hospital settings, focusing on identifying similarities and differences in their viewpoints.
Participatory qualitative descriptive study.
Data were collected from seven FMs and 11 nurses using the World Café method in November 2019. An abductive approach was employed for data analysis, combining deductive interpretation within the conceptual framework of empowering support and inductive content analysis.
Four main themes were identified: (1) FMs' diverse information and guidance needs of TBI, treatment and its impact on family life, (2) support based on empowering FMs in participation, competence and decision-making, (3) empowering FMs through collaborative nursing practices and interprofessional support, and (4) internal and external hospital support enhancing and promoting the empowerment of FMs.
The perceptions of FMs and nurses regarding empowering support were largely consistent, yet diverged in its implementation in nursing practice. Nurses play a crucial role in fostering the empowerment of FMs; however, further research is needed to explore the impact of organisational and community factors on the implementation of empowering support.
Our study contributes to advancing nursing practices by underscoring the necessity for a paradigm shift towards a family-centred approach. Furthermore, it emphasises the urgency for standardising nursing practices to ensure equitable access to empowering support for FMs, applicable across various care settings for patients with TBI.
This review is part of a larger research project in which FMs of patients with TBI and nurses were involved in designing the project.
This study was reported using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Checklist for qualitative studies.