Development and Evaluation of a Competency-Based Training Program for Novice Operating Room Nurses in a University Hospital in China: A Mixed-Methods Study.

PURPOSE: To develop and evaluate a competency-based training program for novice operating room nurses. DESIGN: A sequential exploratory mixed-methods study. METHODS: The program was developed via literature review, stakeholder interviews (n=30), and a two-round Delphi expert consensus (n=19). A quasi-experimental study assigned 64 new nurses to an intervention group (competency-based training) or a control group (conventional training). Outcomes included knowledge, skills, competency, coordination quality, and surgeon satisfaction. FINDINGS: Strong expert consensus was achieved. Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant improvements across all outcomes (p<.01). CONCLUSION: The program effectively enhances novice nurses' competencies and clinical performance, providing an evidence-based framework for standardizing onboarding training in surgical settings.