Competencies of rehabilitation nurses to care for patients with disabilities: a qualitative study

Among the members of the rehabilitation team, nurses play a key role in the rehabilitation process and are responsible for the specialized care of patients with disabilities. In order to provide these cares, nurses need to acquire various skills, which are important to know in order to provide quality care. Therefore, this study, through a qualitative approach, has explained the required competencies of rehabilitation nurses in caring for patients with disabilities.

In this qualitative content analysis study, 14 nurses working in Rafideh Rehabilitation Hospital (Tehran/Iran) were participated. Participants were purposively selected based on their willingness to participate in research and experience caring for patients with disabilities. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and data analysis was based on the steps suggested by Granheim and Lundman. The correctness and robustness of the collected data were evaluated based on Lincoln and Goba criteria.

After analyzing the findings from 17 interviews, three main classes of "proficiency in providing care" with four subclasses (acquiring rehabilitation knowledge, mastering general nursing knowledge, having general and specialized skills), the main category "constructive communication with the patient" with three subcategories (cultural sensitivity, reliability, active listening) and the main category "personality characteristics" with six subcategories (resilience, honesty, ethics, patronage, participation, compassion) emerged.

The results show that the rehabilitation nurse needs to strengthen various aspects of his existence, including general and specialized knowledge and skills, the ability to communicate constructively with the rehabilitation team, the patient and the family, as well as acquiring positive personality traits in order to be able to best to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. The results of this research can help nurses to achieve the maximum level of individual competence and nursing managers to identify and select the most qualified nurses to provide care for patients with disabilities.