Vol. 9 No. 1 (2021): International Journal of Nursing Care
Articles

Nurses’ Clinical Skill Utilisation: An Opinion from Public Health Institutions

Santosh Mahindrakar
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Mansingh Jat
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Besty Ann Varghese
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Published 2021-02-09

Keywords

  • Utilization of nursing skills, nursing skills, public health nurses, India

How to Cite

Nurses’ Clinical Skill Utilisation: An Opinion from Public Health Institutions. (2021). International Journal of Nursing Care, 9(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijonc.v9i1.14001

Abstract

Background: Nurses are the backbone of health care systems worldwide. In India, the assessment of
existing knowledge of nursing workforce and the utilization of skills is not evaluated and properly used to
ensure good quality in health care.
Methods : Using the Delphi technique a survey was developed and sent to nurses. Self- rating methods (on
a likert scale) were used in order to operationalize the personal skills.
Results: Almost half (48%) of the participants have a Bachelor degree. Out of this 27.2% qualified for a
higher education (e.g. Master in related subject). Most nurses (56% in sample were females) are permanent
employed working as staff nurse or nursing officers in the public sector. Among the participants. 20% have
sufficient teaching experience between 1 to 3 years. Self-rating of skills was high in almost all topics.
Conclusion: Having attained higher education most of the participants remain working as staff nurses.
The good self-rating of participants underlines their ability to take over much higher positions and
responsibilities. Moreover, teaching experience is hardly acknowledged by institutions since teaching staff
is usually recruited from outside. The study suggests that a majority of the population has an interest to work
in rural area .Better work conditions are needed in order to gain workforce in this areas.
Skills should be effectively utilized in areas of administration, management, research and education, with a
proper distribution to rural and urban areas in order to ensure a good health care system in India.