Objective Competency denotes the ability to execute a certain task or action with the necessary knowledge. Competency definitions and measurements are challenging for nursing and other professions due to their multidimensional aspects. This study aimed to clarify the concept of competency in nursing practice and propose an accurate definition. Design Walker and Avant’s approach was used to elucidate the concept of competency in nursing practice. Data sources ScienceDirect, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus and CINAHL were searched from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2021. Eligibility criteria We included studies with the keywords: “concept analysis”, “competence”, “competency” and “nursing”. The search was limited to full-text studies written in English that used theoretical and empirical approaches. Data extraction and synthesis We extracted the concept’s uses, defining attributes, and the consequences and antecedents of the concept. Results 60 articles were identified from the search process; after excluding duplicates and works unrelated to the study aim and context following the full-text screening, 10 articles were included in this concept analysis. The common defining attributes of competency were knowledge, self-assessment and dynamic state. Competency in nursing practice had many reported positive consequences that include but are not limited to improved patient, nurse and organisational outcomes. Conclusions Nurses can benefit from the result of this analysis in practice to implement professional care, in particular clinical contexts and situations to enhance patients’ health.

Aim: This review aims to examine nurses’ perceived barriers to and facilitators of pain assessment and management in adult critical care patients. Background: Pain is one of the worst memories among critically ill patients. However, pain among those patients is still undertreated due to several barriers that impede effective management. Therefore, addressing the perceived barriers and facilitators to pain assessment management among critical care nurses is crucial. Methods: A systematic search of pain assessment and management in critical care patient-relevant literature from four databases was done, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: The barriers and facilitators were categorized into four groups: nurse-related, patient-related, physician-related, and system-related. The most frequently reported barriers in this study included nurses’ lack of knowledge regarding the use of pain assessment tools, patients’ inability to communicate, physicians’ prescription of analgesics being independent of pain scores evaluation, and absence of standardized guidelines and protocols for pain evaluation and control. For the facilitators, the most reported ones include ongoing education and professional training related to pain assessment and management, patients’ ability to self-report pain, effective collaboration between physicians and nurses, and productive discussion of patients’ pain scores during nurse-to-nurse handovers. Conclusion: Various barriers and facilitators to pain assessment and management were identified and examined in this review. However, future research is still needed to further investigate these barriers and facilitators and examine any other potential associated factors among critical care nurses. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The findings of our study could help hospital managers in developing continuous education and staff development training programs on assessing and managing pain for critical care patients. Also, our findings could be used to develop an evidence-based standard pain management protocol tailored to effectively assess and promptly treat pain in critical care patients.

Background: Early assessment and management of patients with sepsis can significantly reduce its high mortality rates and improve patient outcomes and quality of life.Objectives: The purposes of this review are to: (1) explore nurses’ knowledge, attitude, practice, and perceived barriers and facilitators related to early recognition and management of sepsis, (2) explore different interventions directed at nurses to improve sepsis management.Methods: A systematic review method according to the PRISMA guidelines was used. An electronic search was conducted in March 2021 on several databases using combinations of keywords. Two researchers independently selected and screened the articles according to the eligibility criteria.Results: Nurses reported an adequate of knowledge in certain areas of sepsis assessment and management in critically ill adult patients. Also, nurses’ attitudes toward sepsis assessment and management were positive in general, but they reported some misconceptions regarding antibiotic use for patients with sepsis, and that sepsis was inevitable for critically ill adult patients. Furthermore, nurses reported they either were not well-prepared or confident enough to effectively recognize and promptly manage sepsis. Also, there are different kinds of nurses’ perceived barriers and facilitators related to sepsis assessment and management: nurse, patient, physician, and system-related. There are different interventions directed at nurses to help in improving nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice of sepsis assessment and management. These interventions include education sessions, simulation, decision support or screening tools for sepsis, and evidence-based treatment protocols/guidelines.Discussion: Our findings could help hospital managers in developing continuous education and staff development training programs on assessing and managing sepsis in critical care patients.Conclusion: Nurses have poor to good knowledge, practices, and attitudes toward sepsis as well as report many barriers related to sepsis management in adult critically ill patients. Despite all education interventions, no study has collectively targeted critical care nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practice of sepsis management.

Purpose: Mindfulness meditation was used to reduce stress and its responses such as cortisol and C-reactive protein (CRP) among healthy and ill individuals in various cultures, but its effect has not yet been studied among nursing students, experiencing tremendous stress. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of mindfulness meditation on trait mindfulness, perceived stress, serum cortisol, and serum C-reactive proteins (CRP) in nursing students. Patients and Methods: Using a two-arm, randomized, parallel study (conducted in a large university in Jordan, 108 nursing students were randomly assigned to experimental group receiving five 30-minute weekly sessions of mindfulness meditation and control group sitting quiet during the experimental sessions. Trait mindfulness, perceived stress, serum cortisol, and CRP were measured at baseline and end of the intervention. Results: Using one-way MANOVA and post-hoc comparisons, the results showed that mindfulness meditation was significantly effective in decreasing serum cortisol levels and perceived stress. The mindfulness meditation also decreased CRP and increased trait mindfulness although the results did not reach statistically significant levels. Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for serious consideration of mindfulness meditation in nursing colleges to improve stress and raise immunity in this vulnerable population. Trial Registration: Mindfulness Meditation for Nursing Students: clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT05099224.