Construction of evaluation indexes of nursing students' quality and safety competencies: A Delphi study in China

Background: Providing quality and safe nursing care is considered the cornerstone of the healthcare system globally. However, there are no comprehensive evaluation indicators of nursing students' quality and safety competencies in China. Aim: To develop the evaluation indicators and achieve experts' consensus on bachelor nursing students' quality and safety competencies at their graduation. Methods: Based on the framework of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's Quality and Safety Education for Nurses, literature review, semi-structured interview, and e-Delphi technique, the evaluation indicators were developed and obtained consensus through the participation of 22 nursing educational experts from August 2016 to May 2017. Results: The evaluation indicators consisted of six domains, including safety care, patient-center care, collaboration and teamwork, continuous quality improvement, informatics, and evidence-based practice competencies, and 88 indicators. These indicators obtained >= 76% consensus on the experts' judgments. Conclusions: The evaluation indicators achieved the consensus on a panel of nursing experts, which were scientific and practicable. It could provide guidance for establishing a nursing curriculum to prepare bachelor nursing students' quality and safety competencies.

Automated summary

The study developed evaluation indicators for quality and safety competencies of bachelor nursing students at graduation, achieving consensus among nursing experts. The indicators included six domains and 88 indicators, providing important guidance for nursing education.