Specific Competencies of Prehospital Emergency Nursing: The Views of Spanish University Professors

Background: The guarantee of nursing competence in prehospital urgent care requires the identification and delimitation of the specific competencies. This work describes the importance attributed by professors of Spanish universities to the competencies of prehospital nursing positions and indicates the most appropriate training level required to achieve them. Method: The current work consisted of a survey with an online questionnaire. Sixty competencies over 10 domains were studied. Results: The most valued domains were those of general and personal competencies. The competencies considered most important were "Recognizes the vital risk and knows how to perform basic and advanced life support maneuvers" and "Provides quality health care." The nursing degree is considered appropriate to train students to the required level in only eight competencies. Conclusion: The proposed competencies can be considered as specific competencies necessary in prehospital emergency nursing. Effective performance requires training to a higher level than a nursing degree.