The development of nurses' core competencies and the analysis of validity and importance-performance

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop nurses' core competencies and sub-competencies and to verify the validity and importance-performance of core competencies. Methods: The core competencies of nurses were derived through an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well as a literature analysis of domestic and foreign accreditation institutions. Validity and importance-performance analyses were conducted on the core competencies derived from nursing colleges nationwide. Results: Six core competencies of nurses were revealed: integration of knowledge and nursing skills, critical thinking, communication, leadership, safety management, and global competency. Further, eighteen sub-competencies were derived. The content validity ratio values for the core competencies were higher than 0.74. Communication skills among multidisciplinary teams and communication skills among nursing teams were shown to be the most important competencies to be improved. Conclusion: The results of this study are meaningful in terms of how the core competencies of nurses were derived and evaluated for the fourth cycle of nursing education accreditation according to the changes of time and culture.