Characteristics of nursing educators' professional competency standards: A scoping review

Aim

To map the characteristics of nursing educators' competency standards for practice from the existing literature, examine the evidence and identify commonalities and differences.

Background

Many countries or regions have produced nursing educator standards, however, there is no common set of standards or competencies used globally. Mapping these nursing educator standards should identify a common set of standards that can be applied across any nursing educator practice setting.

Design

The review was conducted using the JBI methodology for scoping reviews and followed an a priori protocol.

Methods

A comprehensive search of studies or guidelines (2001–2022) was undertaken to identify specific nursing educator competencies from any practice setting and in any language. Preceptorship and mentorship studies were excluded from the search terms. Databases searched for relevant records and guidelines were CINAHL, ERIC, Medline (Ovid), Pubmed, Scopus, Google and targeted websites. After screening and selection, relevant data were extracted and summarized using an extraction guide. Characteristics of the reports were identified and all three levels of competency statements were mapped against commonly occurring categories derived from the data.

Results

1145 evidence records were screened after removal of duplicates with 14 records included in the review. The included evidence sources were from various nursing educator practice settings and educator roles. All evidence sources had at least two levels of competency statements and 16 competency categories were identified. Common categories in the first two competency levels were: leadership and management; research and scholarship; professional values and professional development; and facilitating learning. Statements related to learner evaluation were also common in the level 2 competencies. Level 3 competencies were included in seven evidence sources and most of the sources included almost all categories. Low-occurring statements at all levels were in the ‘Nursing skills’ and ‘Decision-making/strategic planning” categories.

Conclusions

Common characteristics and categories were found between different evidence sources in this review. The most common competency review categories included leadership and management, professional development and facilitating learning. Few decision-making competencies were identified from the evidence sources. These results can inform educators and managers in developing globally-based nursing educator competencies, performance management tools and job descriptions.