Newly graduated registered nurses' self-assessed clinical competence and their need for further training.

Aim: To explore and describe changes in self-assessed clinical competence and the need for further training among newly graduated Registered Nurses during their first 15 months of professional work in acute care hospital settings.

Design: Quantitative longitudinal design.

Methods: The 50-item Professional Nurse Self-Assessment Scale of clinical core competencies II was used. A total of 45 newly graduated Registered Nurses answered the questionnaire at four different occasions. Data were collected after 2, 5, 9 and 15 months of working experience.

Result: The components "ethical decision-making," "cooperation and consultation" and "clinical leadership" were rated highest in clinical competence and lowest in need for further training. The components "professional development" and "critical thinking" were rated lowest in clinical competence and "direct clinical practice" rated highest in need for further training. The clinical competence increased significant between 9-15 months, with the exception of "critical thinking" and need for further training decreased significantly between 9-15 months, with the exception of "critical thinking."