This study aimed to clarify the specialty of psychiatric nursing as perceived by psychiatric nurses who were not certified psychiatric nurses. Focus groups interviews (FGI) were conducted with nine uncertified psychiatric nurses, and their comments on the specialty of psychiatric nursing were analyzed by SCAT. The results showed that the specialty of psychiatric nursing recognized by the subjects was related to “specialty in patient care,” “various perceptions of the specialty,” “difficulty in establishing the field as a specialty,” and “awareness of one’s own specialty.” It comprised contents related to a situation to be handled, and specialty in patient care, which included content related to nursing practice based on knowledge, skills, and the ideal image and role of nurses in nursing. In addition, “various perceptions of specialty” affected “difficulty in establishing the field as a specialty.” There was also uncertainty regarding whether psychiatric nursing could be seen as a “specialty in patient care.” Furthermore, “specialty in patient care” and “various perceptions of specialty” affected “difficulty in establishing the field as a specialty.” In addition, there was also a problem that it could not be said unconditionally that psychiatric nursing is a “specialty in patient care.”

View full abstract

Nurses learning specific acts must acquire practical skills, recognize the required abilities and evaluate them appropriately. This pilot study aimed to develop a nursing practice self-evaluation scale in practical training through the categorization of specified medical acts in Japan. This was a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Participants were 230 nurses who completed a nursing practice self-evaluation assessment with a four-point Likert-type scale comprising 24 items. The two phases of the study were (a) item analysis and (b) evaluation of the scale’s validity and reliability through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A total of 227 (98.7%) effective answers were identified. From the EFA results, a nursing practice self-evaluation scale was developed assessing three factors comprised of 19 items: (i) Factor 1 (basic knowledge and attitude), (ii) Factor 2 (roles and responsibility in team medicine), and (iii) Factor 3 (practice of specific acts based on evidence). The goodness of fit by CMIN/DF and RMSEA was an acceptable fit. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient indicating the reliability of this scale was >0.8. The study supports the validity and reliability of this nursing practice self-evaluation scale through the category subjects of specified acts. The findings suggest that it is important for nurses to self-evaluate basic knowledge and attitude, roles and responsibility in team medicine, and the practice of specific acts based on evidence to improve competency.

View full abstract