Comparison of factors predicting nursing skills between general and psychiatric nurses.

PURPOSE: I examined whether nursing skills are related to occupational stress, self-focus, and other-consciousness, and whether these relationships differ between general and psychiatric nurses.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Two hundred seventy-one general and 317 psychiatric nurses completed a questionnaire assessing the aforementioned variables. Regression analysis was used to explore the predictors of nursing skills.

FINDINGS: Internal and fantastic aspects (other-consciousness subscales) and psychological burden (occupational stress subscale) predicted nursing skills in both groups, while lower rumination and higher reflection scores predicted them only in psychiatric nurses.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nursing education should facilitate other-consciousness in general nurses, but self-focus in psychiatric nurses.