Aim: The primary aim was to describe differences, if any, between learned and practiced competences among a
convenience sample of Italian and Slovenian nursing staff; the secondary aim was to validate an instrument
capable of measuring internationally such competences.
Background: The distance between competences learned and those practiced as a source of under- or overeducation has not been investigated to date at the international level.
Design: A explorative observational investigation was performed in 2019 by involving 426 Italian and Slovenian
members of the nursing staff working in medical and surgical departments. The study was conducted according
to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.
Methods: Members of the nursing staff (health care assistants, general nurses, specialist nurses and advanced
nurses) were invited to complete the Nursing Competence Instrument based on the European Federation of
Nursing Association’s four categories of the nursing care continuum, from health care assistants to advanced
practice nurses.
Results: The construct validity of the Nursing Competence Instrument indicated the presence of four identifiable
dimensions (internal consistency ranging from 0.82 to 0.93). On average, the scores of the competences practiced
were interestingly slightly higher than those learned among general care nurses. In contrast, health care assistants, specialist nurses and advanced practice nurses, reported to have learned importantly slightly lower as that
practiced.
Conclusions: At the overall levels, nurses tend to apply what they had been thought; additionally, all profiles seem
to rate at low ranges both the competences practiced and those learned, suggesting the need to maximise nursing
competences, both in the classroom and in the daily practice. Mapping the degree of competences acquired in
education, as applied in the clinical practice, might assist clinical nurses, nurse educators and health care
managers to identify areas at need of improvement. Moreover, mapping differences (if any) across countries
might have research, managerial and educational implications.
