Psychiatric competencies of general emergency nurses: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: The increase of psychiatric emergency visits to general emergency departments and the necessity of competent providers in terms of knowledge, skill, and ability is even more evident. This study was conducted to investigate the competencies of general emergency nurses in dealing with psychiatric emergencies in the hospitals of Alborz University of Medical Sciences in 2022.
METHODS: In this descriptive-cross-sectional study, 227 nurses were included in the study through census method. The data were collected and analyzed through a psychometric questionnaire consisting of four sections frequency, importance, self-efficacy, and educational need assessment.
RESULTS: The results showed that the average rating score of frequency was 2.04±0.75, importance was 2.37±0.84, and self-efficacy was 2.14±0.76. Work experience in psychiatric emergencies and the frequency of exposure and care of psychiatric patients were related to importance and self-efficacy scores. There was a positive and significant relationship between frequency and importance with self-efficacy.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The ranking of the importance, self-efficacy, and frequency of the competencies required in dealing with psychiatric emergencies in the nurses of this study was moderate. According to the role of demographic variables, rotating shifts of public emergency nurses in psychiatric departments and designing relevant educational interventions are suggested.