The Challenges in Reporting Incompetent Practices in Nursing

Professional competency has been proposed as a vital and fundamental component of nursing care provision, but it may not be necessarily easy to achieve (1). It has always been recommended that nurses should understand their professional limitations, which is to exercise only the nursing skills allowed within their scope of practice. A deficiency in knowledge or skills, including communication and collaboration, can harm a nurse's ability to function properly (2) and may negatively erode confidence and trust in the profession. For example, nurses' incompetent communication skills, leading to wrong administration of drugs to patients, have contributed to a disastrous outcome or death (3).