Professional competency and moral courage among staff nurses

Abstract

Background

Nurses must possess professional competency and moral courage to ensure the excellence of care and safety for patient, communicate effectively with other healthcare staff, and promote the establishment of consistent and universal care.

Aim

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between professional competency and moral courage among staff nurses.

Methods

A descriptive correlational study design was conducted at Ain Shams University Hospital, affiliated with Ain Shams University Hospitals. The study included 172 out of 310 staff nurses. Three tools were used for data collection, namely: Personal Characteristics Sheet, The Nurse Professional Competency Scale–Short Form (NPC-Scale SF), and The Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale (NMCS). Data were collected over a period of six weeks, starting from the second half of April 2024 until the end of May 2024.

Results

This study revealed that 42.7% of the staff nurses were aged between 25 and 35 years, 61.4% were female, 28.7% held a nursing technical degree, and 51.5% had more than five years of experience. In addition, more than three-fifths of the participants reported a moderate level of professional competency, followed by a low level. Similarly, two-thirds of the participants reported a moderate level of moral courage, followed by a low level. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between professional competency and moral courage among staff nurses (r = 0.637**, p = 0.000).

Conclusion

This study concluded that there was a strong positive significant relationship between professional competency and moral courage among staff nurses, which answered the research question. This study recommends that training and educational programs should be conducted regularly and continuously to update and expand nurses’ knowledge and skills concerning professional competencies and the implementation of ideal models in clinical practice.