Do educational outcomes correspond with the requirements of nursing practice: educators' and managers' assessments of novice nurses' professional competence

Objective: This study evaluated weather educational outcomes of nurse education meet the requirements of nursing practice by exploring the correspondence between nurse educators' and nurse managers' assessments of novice nurses' professional competence. The purpose was to find competence areas contributing to the acknowledged practice-theory gap. Design: A cross-sectional, comparative design using the Nurse Competence Scale was applied. Subjects: The sample comprised nurse educators (n = 86) and nurse managers (n = 141). Methods: Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the data analysis. Main outcome measures: Educators assessed novice nurses' competence to a significantly higher level than managers in all competence areas (p