Investigation of the Current Status of Core Competencies of ECMO Nurses in ICUs and Analysis of Influencing Factors: A Multicentre Survey
Authors: Xu Aoran , Li Zhangshuangzi , Li Xin , Han Yaxian , Xie Chuantao 
Published: February 2025

Background

ECMO techniques are commonly used to save critically ill patients with life‐threatening conditions. The importance of ECMO nurses in the ECMO team and in caring for patients has been demonstrated, but the impact of the core competency dimension on ECMO nurses has not been explored. The level of core competence of ECMO nurses in the intensive care unit (ICU) is also influenced by mutiple factors. Moreover, the training of ECMO specialist nurses is closely related to the research of core competencies, and there are inconsistencies in training standards and diverse training contents in the exploratory stage, which still need to be improved.

Objectives

To understand the current status of core competencies of ECMO nurses in tertiary hospitals in mainland China and to provide a reference basis for revising the core competencies training programme for ECMO nurses.

Methods

A multicentre cross‐sectional survey.

Results

A total of 307/322 (response rate: 95.3%) participants from ICUs of 16 tertiary hospitals in China took part in this study, and the total core competency score of ECMO nurses was (179.87 ± 46.22), with the highest‐scoring dimension being personal attributes (3.87 ± 0.87) and the lowest‐scoring dimension being professional development abilities (2.75 ± 0.96). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, age, title, years of ICU experience, average number of ECMO patients per year in the department, number of ECMO trainings and whether or not they have participated in ECMO scenario simulation trainings are independent influences on the core competencies of ECMO nurses (all p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The level of core competence of ECMO nurses within ICUs in China needs to be improved, and nursing administrators should develop effective improvement measures to comprehensively enhance the overall level of core competence of ECMO nurses. The core competency level of ECMO nurses and its influencing factors were understood in this study, and the foundation for the construction of the core competency training program for ECMO nurses was laid. Management, training, and evaluation of ECMO nurses were informed by this study.

Implications for Clinical Practice

The core competency level of ECMO nurses was studied and analysed, which provided a reference for the management, training and evaluation of ECMO nurses in the ICU and the qualification criteria for ECMO specialist nurses. It is novel and clinically practical because it is innovative to evaluate the comprehensive competence of ECMO nurses in clinical practice from the perspective of the core competency framework. The influencing factors of the core competency level, combined with the research of relevant literature and qualitative interviews with ECMO nurses, have the opportunity to formulate training programmes and apply them to clinical practice, which reflects the meaningful relationship between this study and clinical practice.

We chose the STROBE Statement in the EQUATOR checklist for my study.