A STUDY ON KSA (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITY) COMPETENCY AMONG NURSES Abstract P.Jakulin Divya Mary Lecturer, Faculty of Management, Sri Ramachandra University Competency is the ability to do something efficiently and effectively. Competency for a work is a collection of related abilities, knowledge, commitments and skills that enables a person to act effectively in a job. KSA Competence indicates sufficiency of knowledge, skills and ability that enables a person to act in various situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career. This study analyses the current KSA competency among nurse in Chennai. The type of Research to be used in this study is Descriptive Research. Data collection is through primary and secondary methods. Population is Registered nurses in Tamil Nadu nurses and midwives council (99660 till April 2010). A convenient sampling method is used to choose a sample size of 50. The place of study is Chennai. The duration of study is confined to a month. The outcome of this study will help to know the current KSA competency level of nurses. Key Words: Knowledge, Skill, Ability Introduction Competency is the ability to do something efficiently and effectively. Competency for a work is a collection of related abilities, knowledge, commitments and skills that enables a person to act effectively in a job. KSA Competence indicates sufficiency of knowledge, skills and ability that enables a person to act in various situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career. Competencies are used for: Assessing a candidate while selecting for a job. Conducting training and development programs. 168
Managing employee performance. Sustaining workforce. Planning future workforce. This study analyses the current KSA competency among nurse in Chennai. The type of Research to be used in this study is Descriptive Research. Data collection is through primary and secondary methods. Population is Registered nurses in Tamil Nadu nurses and midwives council (99660 till April 2010). A convenient sampling method is used to choose a sample size of 30. The place of study is Chennai. The duration of study is confined to a month. The outcome of this study will help to know the current KSA competency level of nurses. Objectives To analyze knowledge among of nurses for performing a given task To analyze the skills possessed by nurses To analyze the ability possessed by nurses Scope of the study Restricted to a period of one month Restricted to 30 samples Research Methodology 1. Research Design : Descriptive research 2. Data Collection methods : Primary and Secondary 3. Primary data Collection Source : Websites, Books and Journals 4. Secondary data Collection instrument : Questionnaire 5. Population : Registered nurses in Tamilnadu nursing council(99660) 6. Sampling Technique : Convenient sampling 7. Place of study : Chennai 8. Duration of study : 1 month 169
9. Sample size : 30 10. Statistical Techniques : Percentage Analysis and Chi Square Data interpretation and analysis 73% of the respondents belong to 31-40 years of age, 17% belong to 20-30 years and 10% belong to above 40 years of age. 43% of the respondents have 2-10 years of experience, 30% have below 2 years and 27% have above 10 years of experience. CHI-SQUARE ANALYSIS Relationship between Employee s Age and Theoretical Knowledge: Age Theoretical Knowledge High Medium low No of Respondents 20-30 3 1 1 5 31-40 3 11 8 22 Above 40 1 1 1 3 Total 7 13 10 30 Null Hypothesis (H O ): There is no significant relationship between employee s age and Theoretical Knowledge. Alternative Hypothesis (H 1 ): There is significant relationship between employee s age and Theoretical Knowledge. Hypothesis Calculation: O E O-E (O-E) 2 Σ = (O-E) 2 / E 3 1.17 1.83 3.3489 3 3 5.13-2.13 4.5369 1 1 0.7 0.3 0.09 0 1 2.17-1.17 1.3689 1 11 9.53 1.47 2.1609 0 1 1.3-0.3 0.09 0 1 1.67-0.67 0.4489 0 170
8 7.33 0.67 0.4489 0 1 1 0 0 0 Σ = 5 The calculated value is : Σ = 5 Degrees of freedom : (r-1) (s-1) = (3-1) (3-1) = 4 Level of Significance : 5% Tabulated value is : 9.49 Since calculated value for chi-square test is lesser than the tabulated value, the Null hypothesis is accepted. Inference: The calculated value of chi-square test is 5 which is lesser than the tabulated value i.e. 9.49 therefore the Null hypothesis is accepted. This implies that there is significant no relationship between employee s age and Theoretical knowledge. Relationship between Employee s Experience and Skills possessed by Nurses: Experience Skill set High Medium low No of Respondents 20-30 1 1 7 09 31-40 8 3 2 13 Above 40 5 2 1 08 Total 14 6 10 30 Null Hypothesis (H O ): There is no significant relationship between Employee s Experience and Skills possessed by Nurses. Alternative Hypothesis (H 1 ): There is significant relationship between Employee s Experience and Skills possessed by Nurses. Hypothesis Calculation: 171
O E O-E (O-E) 2 Σ = (O-E) 2 / E 1 4.2-3.2 10.24 2.44 8 6.07 1.93 3.7249 0.61 5 3.73 1.27 1.6129 0.43 1 1.8-0.8 0.64 0.36 3 2.6 0.4 0.16 0.06 2 1.6 0.4 0.16 0.10 7 3 4 16 5.33 2 4.33-2.33 5.4289 1.25 1 2.67-1.67 2.7889 1.04 Σ =11.63 The calculated value is : Σ = 11.63 Degrees of freedom : (r-1) (s-1) = (3-1) (3-1) = 4 Level of Significance : 5% Tabulated value is : 9.49 Since calculated value for chi-square test is greater than the tabulated value, the Null hypothesis is rejected. Inference: The calculated value of chi-square test is 11.63 which is greater than the tabulated value i.e. 9.49 therefore the Null hypothesis is rejected. This implies that there is significant relationship between employee s age and skills of nurses. Relationship between Employee s Age and Ability to perform job: Age Theoretical Knowledge High Medium low No of Respondents 20-30 2 2 1 5 31-40 5 11 6 22 Above 40 1 1 1 3 Total 8 14 8 30 Null Hypothesis (H O ): There is no significant relationship between employee s age and Ability to perform job. 172
Alternative Hypothesis (H 1 ): S A M Z O D H A N A There is significant relationship between employee s age and Ability to perform job. Hypothesis Calculation: O E O-E (O-E) 2 Σ = (O-E) 2 / E 2 1.33 0.67 0.4489 0.34 5 5.87-0.87 0.7569 0.13 1 0.8 0.2 0.04 0.05 2 2.33-0.33 0.1089 0.05 11 10.27 0.73 0.5329 0.05 1 1.4-0.4 0.16 0.11 6 1.33 4.67 21.8089 16.40 1 5.87-4.87 23.7169 4.04 1 0.8 0.2 0.04 0.05 Σ = 21.22 The calculated value is : Σ = 5 Degrees of freedom : (r-1) (s-1) = (3-1) (3-1) = 4 Level of Significance : 5% Tabulated value is : 21.22 Since calculated value for chi-square test is greater than the tabulated value, the Null hypothesis is rejected. Inference: The calculated value of chi-square test is 21.22 which is greater than the tabulated value i.e. 9.49 therefore the Null hypothesis is rejected. This implies that there is significant relationship between employee s age and Ability to perform job. Findings 73% of the respondents belong to 31-40 years of age, 17% belong to 20-30 years and 10% belong to above 40 years of age 43% of the respondents have 2-10 years of experience, 30% have below 2 years and 27% have above 10 years of experience. 173
43% of the respondents strongly agree that they are sharing information and new ideas, 17% agree, 20% are neutral and 20% disagree to this statement. There is significant no relationship between employee s age and Theoretical Knowledge. There is significant relationship between employee s age and Skills of nurses. There is significant relationship between employee s age and Ability to perform job. Conclusion From this study it was found that, experienced nurses posses more skills than nurses with less experience while nurses below 30 years of experience posses more theoretical knowledge compared to nurses of above 30 years of experience. 174