What Shapes Clinical Competence in Intensive Care Nurses? A Hierarchical Regression Analysis

Abstract

Clinical competence is central to safe and high‐quality nursing care in intensive care units (ICUs). Although professional experience has long been regarded as a primary pathway to competence, this assumption requires empirical testing in contemporary ICU nursing, where care is increasingly shaped by advanced technologies, evidence‐based protocols and structured professional development. However, it remains unclear whether clinical competence among ICU nurses is shaped primarily by accumulated experience or by structured ICU training and certification.