Abstract:

Objective To construct an indicator system for entrustable professional activities（EPAs） of nurses in the cardiology department of tertiary hospitals，providing a scientific tool for evaluating their job competency. MethodsUsing literature analysis，semi-structured interviews，and the Delphi method，this study preliminarily established EPAs indicators，descriptive explanations，and expected entrustment levels stratified by working years for nurses in the cardiovascular department of tertiary hospitals. The feasibility of the indicators was verified by EPAs evaluation in 56 nurses. Results Two rounds of questionnaire surveys were distributed to 22 cardiovascular nursing experts from 16 hospitals in 12 provinces. The effective response rates for both rounds were 100%. Expert authority coefficients was 0.842 and 0.856，with Kendall’s W coefficient of concordance being 0.289 and 0.309 respectively（P<0.001）. Ten EPAs indicators（including 29 description items） and expected entrustment levels were established. Preliminary clinical application showed that the achievement rates for most EPAs items increased with working years，but the rates for EPA8（Integrated Nursing for One-stop Hybrid Surgery） and EPA10 （Professional Practice Development） were relatively low（59% and 53% at the end of the fifth year，respectively）. Conclusion The EPAs indicators of cardiovascular nurses in tertiary hospitals constructed in this study integrate the 5C competency framework and cardiovascular nursing practice requirements，including five competency dimensions：professional integrity，critical thinking，communication skills，teamwork，and innovative thinking，with 10 EPAs indicators focusing on 29 observable and quantifiable clinical tasks. These EPAs indicators can effectively identify competency gaps and promote professional growth，providing a reference for the assessment of job competency and the direction of clinical teaching and training for cardiovascular nurses in the context of the integration of cardiovascular internal and surgical departments and the treatment of critical illnesses in tertiary hospitals.

Key words: Cardiovascular Department, Nurse, Competency, Entrustable Professional Activities