Career Growth as a Mediator Between Scope of Practice, Importance of Practice and Emergency Nursing Competency Among School Nurses

• Published in: Journal of advanced nursing Vol. 81; no. 10; pp. 6406 - 6416
• Main Authors: Zoromba, Mohamed Ali, El‐Gazar, Heba Emad, Malek, Mohamed Gamal Noaman, El‐Sayed, Mona Metwally, Atta, Mohamed Hussein Ramadan, Amin, Shaimaa Mohamed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2025
• Subjects: Adult; Career advancement; career growth; Career Mobility; Clinical Competence - standards; Competence; Continuing education; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emergency medical care; Emergency Nursing - standards; emergency nursing care competency; Emergency services; Female; Health care; Humans; importance of practice; Indirect effects; Male; Mediation; mediation analysis; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; Nursing care; Professional development; Professional practice; Professional training; School nurses; School nursing; School Nursing - standards; Scope of practice; mediation analysis; emergency nursing care competency; importance of practice; scope of practice; career growth; school nurses
• ISSN: 0309-2402; 1365-2648; 1365-2648
• DOI: 10.1111/jan.16783

ABSTRACT Background School nurses are sometimes the sole healthcare professionals in schools, highlighting their significant role in delivering emergency care and the vital necessity of their competence in emergency nursing care. The scope of practice and ongoing professional development are hypothesized to play significant roles in enhancing these competencies. Aim Investigate the direct and indirect effects of the scope of current practice and the importance of training on the emergency nursing care competency of school nurses, with career growth serving as a potential mediator. Methods A multi‐center cross‐sectional study was conducted with a convenient sample of 219 school nurses. Data were collected using the career growth of nurses' scale, the emergency nursing care competency scale for school nurses and the scope of school nursing practice tool. Mediation analysis was used to explore the direct and indirect effects of studied variables. Results Mediation analysis indicated that the scope of current practice had a significant direct effect on career growth (β = 0.179) and emergency nursing care competency (β = 0.389). The importance of practice also had significant direct effects on career growth (β = 0.164) and emergency nursing care competency (β = 0.220). Additionally, career growth significantly mediated the relationship between both the scope of current practice (β = 0.110) and the importance of practice (β = 0.120) with emergency nursing care competency. Conclusions The findings emphasis the critical role of career growth as a mediator between the scope and importance of practice and emergency nursing care competency among school nurses. Expanding the scope of practice and emphasising the importance of professional activities can enhance career growth and improve emergency nursing care competencies. Implications Nurses scope of practice and clear career advancement through mentorship, advanced certifications, further education and enforcing policies mandating regular emergency care is crucial. Establishing a regulatory framework to define and expand the scope of practice for school nurses is also important. Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contribution.