The clinical competencies of community emergency nurses: a survey

Introduction: international literature highlights that there is no clear definition of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) nursing skills. There is currently no single model for the analysis of EMS nursing skills in Italy. Emilia-Romagna Region, and Local Health Companies, had committed to defining a clinical competence profile for EMS nurses and developing training programs. The purpose of this survey was to describe the clinical competence of EMS nurses and possible correlations between perceived skills and demographic or professional characteristics.

Materials and Methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted, and a questionnaire was used which included demographic and professional data, with 65 items focused on perception of activities and competencies. The sample consisted of 59 nurses. The collected data was compared with data from the nursing intervention forms recorded by nurses between June and August 2024.

Results: fifty-two out of 59 nurses participated in the study, and 86.54% declared themselves overall competent in the areas analyzed. Their perceived competencies and the frequency of the activities were not always confirmed by data in the intervention forms. The perceived skills appear to increase with the perceived frequency of activities.

Conclusions: overall, nurses demonstrate a good level of their skills, in the most common situations, but also there are the differences between perceived skills and what is actually implemented in practice. Some areas require continuing training or greater clinical experience to ensure effective implementation of nursing skills.