The Role of Learning English in Enhancing the Core Competencies of Professional Egyptian Nurses

Abstract

Professional development is an essential part of well-established organizations in today’s marketplace. Since English is the language of science nowadays, it is crucial that healthcare providers, especially nurses, become competent English users as it is incorporated in almost every form of professional development (e.g., courses, books, research articles, updated guidelines). In this sense, the principal aim of the study was to measure the perceptions of professional Egyptian nurses regarding the role of English in enhancing the COPA model core competencies in a cardiac context. In this pursuit, the study employed a quantitative exploratory approach as a 30-item questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale was constructed and disseminated to professional nurses. 82 participants took part in the study. Data were collected and analyzed using the IBM SPSS program. Results revealed that 1) the English language significantly influences the COPA model nursing core competencies according to perceptions of the participants and 2) English enhances the core competencies through improving nurses’ assessment and intervention, communication, critical thinking, human caring and relationships, management, leadership, teaching and knowledge integration into practice and finally 3) male nurses are more aware of the importance of English in improving their core competencies than female nurses. The same applies to experienced nurses.