Development of competencies for advanced nursing practice in intensive care units across Europe: A modified e-Delphi study

Purpose The aim of this study was to identify and define core competencies for advanced nursing roles in adult intensive care units across Europe. Methods Three round electronic Delphi conducted between September 2018 and November 2019, with an expert panel of 184 nurses from 20 countries, supplemented by consensus meetings with 16 participants from 10 countries before each round. Results In Round 1, participants generated 275 statements across 4 domains (knowledge skills and clinical performance; clinical leadership, teaching and supervision; personal effectiveness; safety and systems management). These were re-worded as competency statements and refined at a consensus meeting resulting in 230 statements in 30 sub-domains. The expert panel rated the ‘importance’ of each statement in Round 2; further refinement at the consensus meeting and the addition of descriptors for sub-domains resulted in 95 competency statements presented to the panel in Round 3. These were all retained in the final set of competency statements. Conclusion We have used consensus techniques to generate competencies for advanced practice in intensive care nursing that are relevant across European countries and available in eight languages. These have provided the basis for an outline curriculum from which education programmes can be developed within countries.