Table 2.
The ranked skills areas. [NB: the slight variations in the numbers are due to a small number of respondents who stated ‘not applicable’ or did not answer the question]
| Skill Area Year3 (n = 299) | No. of respondents stating the new graduate would be independent (n) | Weighted Score | Percentage independent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privacy and Dignity | 244 | 4.81 | 83.849 |
| Demonstrates behaviour conducive to learning | 221 | 4.7 | 76.207 |
| Personal care - ability to assess, plan implement and evaluate care of clients across a range of settings using a holistic, comprehensive nursing model | 201 | 4.64 | 68.601 |
| Efficient and Effective Communication | 192 | 4.61 | 66.667 |
| Communication and Documentation | 183 | 4.56 | 63.322 |
| Professional Nursing Behaviours - includes collaborative approaches to care | 184 | 4.53 | 63.230 |
| Therapeutic Nursing Behaviours/ Respectful of personal space | 176 | 4.56 | 61.754 |
| Preventing Risk and Promoting safety - Duty of care | 179 | 4.53 | 61.301 |
| Cultural Competence | 164 | 4.47 | 56.747 |
| Clinical monitoring and management - Use of assessment tools | 153 | 4.45 | 52.577 |
| Promoting self care | 150 | 4.43 | 51.903 |
| Critical Analysis & Reflective Thinking | 149 | 4.42 | 51.557 |
| Planning of Nursing Care | 142 | 4.40 | 48.797 |
| Learner/Evidence Based Practitioner | 132 | 4.34 | 45.675 |
| Coordinating Skills Regarding Nursing Process -uses a range of appropriate assessment strategies and skills across a range of settings | 124 | 4.24 | 43.056 |
| Teamwork and Multidisciplinary Team working | 118 | 4.26 | 40.830 |
| Learning and developmental culture - Learning environment | 116 | 4.27 | 40.418 |
| Clinical interventions - preparing, assisting after care (Investigations/surgery/diagnostic) | 102 | 4.24 | 35.052 |
| Medications and IV Products | 101 | 4.22 | 34.708 |
| Knowledge of key nursing implications of common medical/surgical patient presentations | 95 | 4.12 | 32.872 |
| Technology and Informatics | 91 | 4.15 | 31.597 |
| Different roles of RNs in different treatment or care settings | 84 | 4.10 | 28.866 |
| Demonstrates Teaching/Educator skills | 69 | 3.86 | 24.211 |
| Dementia related skills | 69 | 3.97 | 23.875 |
| Acts as a Resource | 65 | 3.87 | 22.648 |
| Dealing with emotional and bereaved people | 61 | 3.89 | 21.034 |
| Mental Health Nursing Care | 57 | 3.86 | 19.655 |
| Supervisory Skills | 42 | 3.73 | 14.894 |
| Leadership Skills | 36 | 3.68 | 12.721 |
| Case Manager | 18 | 3.50 | 6.475 |