Description

The concept of competence has played a leading role in the international debate in all professions, including nursing. This is often coupled with a profound reflection on the competences that nurses have to possess and the methods that allow evaluation of their actual acquisition. The definitions given for the concept of competence are numerous and are all influenced by specific disciplinary and cultural languages. The training debate distinguishes ‘competence’ from other terms, and, according to the holistic approach, it is characterized by general and contextual attributes, which are considered essential for effective performance. In this line of reasoning, the bologna process in Europe, set up in 1999 as an intergovernmental cooperation agreement in the field of higher education, has proposed the adoption of a system of academic qualifications based on 3 comparable training cycles within the European community through the cooperation of all countries in assessing the quality, transparency and readability of training courses.

A first concrete guide to implementing the policies of the bologna process is offered by the project ‘tuning educational structures in Europe’, initiated and financed by the European commission in 2000. It consists of a methodology to design, develop, and evaluate courses of study according to the new cycle reform). Specifically, Tuning is a reference for developing useful platforms for academic bodies to improve competences and learning outcomes. For the learning outcomes achieved by the students at the end of a cycle of education (understood as ‘performance levels’), the dublin descriptors are utilized. These descriptors represent enunciation of the learning outcomes and are built on the following elements: Knowledge and understanding (knowledge and understanding); applied knowledge and understanding (applying knowledge and understanding), judgement autonomy (making judgements), communication competences (communication competences), and learning competences (learning competences). The tuning educational structures have been offered in various disciplines, including nursing, with the tuning nursing project. The tuning nursing project offers 47 specific nursing competences divided into five domains: Competences associated with professional values and the role of the nurse, nursing practice and clinical decision-making, knowledge and cognitive competences, communication and interpersonal competences (including technology for communication) and leadership, management, and team competences.

Federation of Nursing Associations

After implementing the tuning project in Europe, the European Federation of Nursing associations (EFN) has played a key role in applying the latest legislation on specific nursing competencies. In the updated directive, the European federation of nurses association has linked the eight competences of article 31 of directive 2013/55/EC (from A to H) and the six areas of competence (competency areas, CA) of the ‘EFN competency framework, which includes the following categories of competence CA1 (cultures, ethics and values), CA2 (health promotion and prevention, guidance and teaching), CA3 (decision making), CA 4 (communication and teamwork), CA5 (research, development and leadership) CA6 nursing care. These core competences include, in turn, other sub-competences, which guide the development of learning objectives to be achieved through the contents of the theoretical and practical curriculum. The EFN competency framework has been structured taking into account documents existing and developed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the tuning project and, like the Tuning, aims to guide the process of acquiring and assessment of nursing competences.

The population of the research consisted of first-year students of the nursing faculty of a state university. The sample of the research consisted of first-year students of the nursing faculty who met the research criteria and accepted to participate in the research. The students participating in the research were divided into experimental and control groups using the simple random method. An achievement test, that is, a pre-test, was administered to both groups before the subject was presented. Afterwards, the same subject was presented to all groups by the same instructor during a 4 hour training session. A reinforcement strategy using the gim kit game was implemented with the students in the experimental group, while the traditional question-and-answer method was used as the reinforcement strategy in the control group. After the reinforcements, the achievement test, that is, the post-test, was administered to both groups again.

Advances in information and communication technology are one of the most important factors affecting change in health systems. The rapid pace of technological evolution has also significantly affected the nursing education curricula. As the nursing profession continues to change and grow, updating learning strategies in nursing education has become a necessity to prepare nursing students for today's health problems.

There are critical factors affecting learning today. The use of web 2.0 tools, including the widespread use of the Internet, the emergence of a new type of students known as generation Y and generation Z, who think and learn differently from previous generations and the application of various new teaching methods affect learning. In addition, these generations are defined as perceptible groups that share not only their birth years, but also important life events shaped by technology, family influences, global events and the communication necessary for their development. Younger generations, including nursing undergraduates, live daily lives equipped with highly advanced mobile technology. Education researchers have begun to explore new intervention methods to increase the effectiveness of clinical education for nursing students. In this context, mobile technology has been included in nursing education to improve learning outcomes and facilitate teach. Technology-assisted learning methods also promote the encouragement of dialogue between students and teachers by adjusting the learning focus of new generation students and ensuring that learning outcomes are evaluated correctly.