Predictors of Nursing Competency of Nurses in Long-term Care Hospitals: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the predictors of nursing competency of nurses in long-term care hospitals.Methods: The subjects of this study were 119 nurses working at long-term care hospitals in Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do. Data were collected from September to December 2021 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical regression by SPSS/WIN 21.0.Results: The most potent predictors of nursing competency of nurses in long-term care hospitals were meta-cognition (β=.34, p=.002), clinical experience (β=-.32, p=.001), and emotional intelligence (β=.24, p=.025), which explained 40.0% of the variance.Conclusion: The results suggest that strategies for improving nursing competency of nurses in long-term care hospitals should focus on meta-cognition and emotional intelligence improvement, and a differentiated education program according to clinical experience is needed.