Nursing Competency: Definition, Structure and Development

Nursing competency includes core abilities that are required for fulfilling one’s role as a nurse. Therefore, it is important to learly define nursing competency to　establish a foundation for nursing education curriculum. However, while the concepts surrounding nursing competency are important for improving nursing quality, they are still not yet completely developed. Thus, challenges remain in establishing finitions and structures for nursing competency, competency levels necessary for　nursing professionals, training methods and so on. In the present study, we reviewed the research on definitions and attributes of nursing competency in Japan as well　as competency structure, its elements and evaluation. Furthermore, we investigated training methods to teach nursing competency.