Background: The urgency of ensuring adequate professional competence in clinical nursing practice is evident. However, there is little formal professional competence framework for the education of master's degree students in nursing specialist programs in China.
Objective: To develop a professional competence framework for the Master of Nursing Specialist (MNS) degree program in China.
Design: A modified Delphi study.
Participants: An expert panel discussion was held with 12 experts, and Delphi rounds were conducted with 24 experts.
Methods: A literature review and an expert panel discussion were conducted to develop an initial competence framework. A two-round Delphi survey was employed to obtain a consensus on the framework through either an online or paper questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The consensus threshold was set according to the mean (≥ 4.0), coefficient of variation (< 0.25), and consensus level of agreement (≥70 %).
Results: A consensus on seven domains and 54 items of the professional framework for the MNS degree program was achieved. The framework domains included clinical practice (12 items), professional attitude (8 items), collaboration and communication (5 items), professional development (8 items), research (7 items), education (7 items), and administration (7 items).
Conclusion: The professional competence framework offers guidelines for MNS degree programs in China. Future research should focus on imbedding these competences in MNS degree programs to prepare qualified advanced practice nurses.
Keywords: Advanced practice nursing; Delphi technique; Nursing education; Professional competence; master's degree.
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