Mapping the skills of emergency room nurses at the Mantua ASST: designing the tool and method for cataloging knowledge and skills

Introduction: mapping the skills of healthcare professionals plays a central role in quality assurance systems as it allows for the evaluation of staff and planning of professional development through the identification of skills and knowledge. The aim of the present work was the creation of a skills mapping tool for the Emergency Department (ED) nurse of the ASST of Mantua in order to have a vision of the knowledge and skills of the nursing group that allows to orient and develop training paths by developing the potential of the group.

Materials and Methods: a narrative review of the literature was performed to identify existing mappings of the skills of the ED nurse. A skills map was then created using the mappings found in the literature. The mapping was reviewed by a panel of experts, who evaluated each item using a score ranging from 0 to 2 (0: item inconsistent with the context, 1: not very coherent, 2: coherent). The skills were then divided into ‘basic skills’ (skills to be acquired as a priority for a new employee) and ‘expert skills’ (skills that can be acquired through experience, clinical practice and time) through a focus group.

Results: five mappings from international literature were identified. No mappings of emergency nurse skills were identified in Italy. A mapping was created using the Royal College of Nursing mapping subdivision. The skills were divided into three main sections: core skills, transversal skills and specific emergency care skills. For each of these sections, the domains were then identified, represented by the integration of two components (knowledge and skills), and the items from the narrative review documents were placed within these. The 276 items of the mapping were reviewed by an expert panel of 12 professionals. 9 items were found to be reformulated, 1 item to be eliminated and 11 items to be added. In a second review with the expert panel, all 20 added and reformulated items reached an average between 1.6 and 2. The focus group was formed by 5 professionals from the expert panel who identified 190 ‘basic’ items and 92 ‘expert’ items.

Discussion: the mapping created was calibrated on the ED of the ASST of Mantua and is therefore a situated context. In fact, the skills are closely connected to the context in which they are applied. The method used, however, allows a common vision in identifying the skills. Continuous review and updating of the standards will also be necessary to ensurethat practice develops in line with the context of care.