: Healthcare providers are increasingly inclined to question the quality and efficacy of the care they provide. Nurse competence plays an important role in guaranteeing the quality of nursing interventions and outcomes. It is claimed that a key responsibility of nurse administrators is to ensure staff nurse competence. Nurses should maintain and demonstrate competence throughout their professional career. Nurse Managers have to continuously assess safe patient care. Aim of the Study: to assess competence of nurses' managers at different work environment at Assuit University Hospitals, and compare nurse’s competence at different work environments at Assuit University Hospitals. Subject and Methods: the present study is descriptive, was conducted in all units of Assiut University Hospitals. It included all nurses' managers who are working in different departments at the time of the study. A personal interview questionnaire sheet which consist of two parts: 1st Personal characteristics data which include name, age, department, marital status, educational level, position, years of experience and years of experience of the present position (head nurse, supervisor, assistant director, director of nursing), 2nd Nurse Competence Scale (NCS)was consisted of seventy three items structured in seven competence categories: helping role (seven items), teaching- coaching (sixteen items), diagnostic functions (seven items), managing situations (eight items), therapeutic interventions (ten items), ensuring quality (six items) and work role competences (nineteen items). The Scoring System was four-point scale (0 = not applicable in my work, 1 = very seldom, 2 = occasionally and 3 = very often in my work). The levels of competence are measured with a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS 0-100 mm), which the total score of the VAS with 0 meaning a very low level of competence, 1-30 mild level of competence, 31-60 good level of competence , 61-99 excellent level of competence and 100 a very high level of competence. Results: the nurses' managers in main Assiut University Hospital are most competent than Pediatric and Women Health Hospital in all competence categories. The level of competence categories in emergency is highest than special & general, intensive care unit and operating room. The total VAS mean levels of competence of all categories ranged from 55.93 to 73.5. Conclusions: nurses' managers have excellent level of competence in work role category, followed by teaching coaching category, then in managing situation category. Main Assiut University Hospital nurses' managers are competent than Pediatric Hospital and Women Health Hospitals in all competence categories. The emergency units nurses' managers are competent than other different work settings following by operating rooms.
[Kawther Abd El-Motagally Fadel, Samah Mohamed Abdalah, Fatma Rushdy Mohamed and Eman kamel hossny. competence of Nurses' Managers in Different Work Environment at Assiut University Hospitals . Journal of American Science 2011; 7(6):965-975]. (ISSN: 1545-1003). http://www.americanscience.org.