Evaluation of clinical competence of surgical technologists in medical-educational hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

Clinical competence is one of the most important factors in maintaining standards of care, identifying educational needs, knowledge level and professional development of surgical technologists. Due to advances in surgical technology, there is a need to increase the clinical competence of operating room technologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical competence of surgical technologists in medical-educational hospitals of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.

In this analytical study, the clinical competence of 97 operating room technologists of Sari and Ghaemshahr medical-educational hospitals supervised by Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences was investigated. Data were collected using two sections: demographic characteristics and Arab Khazaee et al. (1997) clinical competence questionnaire in 45 questions and 6 dimensions. A questionnaire designed by Arab Khazaee et al. was used to assess clinical competence. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software version 22 based on descriptive statistics, percentage, mean and standard deviation and independent t-test and one-way ANOVA.

Operating room technologists reported their level of competence as average with a mean overall score of 2.99 ± 0.39. The highest and the lowest mean and standard deviation were related to evaluation of diagnosis and care of surgical patient (3.0 ±48.55) and legal ethical functioning (1.0± 95.32), respectively. There was a significant relationship between type of employment and gender with clinical competence of surgical technologists (P <0.05).

The level of clinical competence of surgical technologists in the medical-educational centers of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences was average. The need to plan for research and applying its results in clinical practice and fostering the spirit of research and inquiry in technologists is recommended as well as the provision of continuing education. In addition, it seems that awareness of medical university education practitioners about the level of clinical competence of those working in medical-educational centers provides valuable information for designing effective education programs and ultimately, improving the quality of health-medical services.