Perioperative Nurses’ Perceptions of the QSEN Competencies

Abstract

Since the development of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies, most published studies related to the topic have focused on investigating the perceptions of nursing faculty members, prelicensure and graduate nursing students, and recently graduated nurses regarding the competencies. Few researchers have explored practicing nurses’ perceptions. The purpose of this study was to describe practicing perioperative nurses’ perceptions of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with the QSEN competencies. Survey results from 654 perioperative nurses representing 49 states showed that participants reported they were very prepared for the patient-centered care and teamwork and collaboration competencies, but they were not prepared for the quality improvement competency. Similarly, perioperative nurses reported less participation in QSEN competency–related activities when they felt not at all prepared or somewhat prepared, despite perceiving these activities to be important. Hospital leaders should support perioperative nurses’ efforts to apply the QSEN competencies in the practice setting.