Objective: Assessing
the level of competence of nurses in anaesthesia care is important not
only in ensuring the quality of anaesthesia care, but also in developing a competence-based
nursing education programme. This study aimed to
assess Finnish nurses’ competence in anaesthesia nursing and to describe factors
associated with it. This study will provide knowledge to support a
competence-based education approach to anaesthesia nursing.

Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used. A self-assessment (Anaesthesia Nursing Competence
Scale) was developed for this study. The scale (39 items, 7 domains) used a
Visual Analogue Scale (0=not competent at all, 100=excellent). Data were
collected from registered nurses (n=222) in anaesthesia departments at
university hospitals in Finland (May-October 2017).

Results: The overall level of anaesthesia nursing competence was self-assessed as
good (Mean 88, SD 9.0). Of the seven competence domains, collaboration within
patient care was assessed as being the highest and knowledge of anaesthesia patient
care the lowest. Longer work experience and completion of specialised anaesthesia nursing education were factors positively associated with anaesthesia nursing competence.

Conclusion: This study suggests that the general nursing education of nurses should provide
more opportunities to improve nurses’ competence in the theoretical knowledge of
anaesthesia. A specialised programme of anaesthesia nursing education at a master’s
level might be one suggestion to meet the challenges in anaesthesia nursing in Finland.
Further studies with different data collection methods such as
observation, a knowledge test, or patient interviews would provide a more
extensive picture of anaesthesia nursing competence.