Self-Assessment of Clinical Skills of Nurses caring for covid-19 patients: Comparison of Nurses with a History of Infectious Disease Care with Other Nurses

Self-assessment is an important part of the process of improving nursing skills and encourages nurses to play a more active role in the learning process and improving nursing care by identifying their strengths and weaknesses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of self-assessment of clinical skills of nurses caring for covid 19 patients in Mashhad.

This is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study of 300 nurses working in the intensive care unit of patients with covid 19 Data were analyzed using a researcher-made questionnaire that included two main sections of demographic information and clinical skills of crisis nursing in 25 specialized cases.. The validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16.

Based on the results, the mean age of the participants in the study was 34 years and 152 of them (78.4%) were women. Most infectious nurses (79%) rated their skills well; While this rate was 50% among non-infectious nurses. The greatest skill in infectious and non-infectious nurses was the ability to provide care services to patients with or suspected of having corona during hospitalization (50%) and the provision of necessary training to corona patients to reduce stress (78.4), respectively.

The results of the present study showed that the clinical skills of nurses in infectious diseases wards are in good condition in times of corona crisis. The findings of the present study can be used in the development of training courses for nurses in hospitals and medical centers to maintain full preparedness for similar crises and professional development of nurses.