Abstract
Background: Nursing internship is intended to develop clinical competence in graduate nurses before registration, but little is known about how competent interns in Nigeria judge themselves to be. This study describes self-assessed clinical skills among nurse interns in two public tertiary hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive survey of nurse interns who completed internship at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). Participants were selected by simple random sampling, with the sample allocated proportionately to hospital size. Data were collected with an adapted, expert-validated questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha above 0.70), administered in person or online. Clinical skills were rated on 24 items using 5-point scales. Data were analysed in SPSS version 27 using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations and 95% confidence intervals.
Results: Of 220 questionnaires distributed, 217 were returned (98.6%) and 206 were analysed (UPTH, n = 120; RSUTH, n = 86). Most respondents were female (74.8%) and unmarried (65.0%). Interns rated themselves highest in vital signs measurement (mean 4.42), oral medication administration (4.22) and urine testing (4.20), and lowest in chest tube care (3.16), tracheostomy care (3.20) and use of the partograph (3.38). Only 51.5% rated themselves high or very high in basic life support.
Conclusion: Self-assessed clinical competence among nurse interns was uneven across skills. Interns were most confident in routine tasks and least confident in specialised and safety-critical skills. Preceptors and programme coordinators should target support at these weaker skills, and findings should be confirmed with observed assessment.