Adoption the Competence Exam as an Innovation Approach to Improve Nurses' Quality

Abstract

Background: The competence exam is an action to develop nursing students' competencies before graduation to be prepared for clinical settings. Many nursing schools around the world require passing standardized tests in terms of graduation in a nursing program. However, there is no such an exam in Iraq. Method: Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory is helpful to determine the adoption of a behavior and to decide which components need extra effort if diffusion is to occur. This theory is used to apply the competence exam as an innovative approach to improve nurses' quality in Iraq. Results: Organization, faculty, and curriculum are the main three concepts that can be integrated based on Rogers Diffusion of Innovation Theory to adopt a competence exam. The outcome would affect nurses' quality directly, and an evaluation can determine the effectiveness of this innovation Conclusion: Adopting a competence exam prepares nursing students for the real clinical settings.