Nivel competencial adquirido en el abordaje de la violencia de género en estudiantes de Enfermería

Objective: to understand the competence level achieved by Nursing Degree students in their fourth year for addressing gender-based violence, and to compare their competence level with that acquired by first year students.Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study. Study population: 1st and 4th students of Nursing Degree at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Madrid, Spain). Data collection: validated questionnaire Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS).Results: 47 Nursing students; 96.1% in first year and 85.7% in fourth year were female. 80.8% (n= 21) of first year students and 57.1% (n= 12) of fourth year claimed that they had never received any training on Intimate Partner Violence against Women (IPVAW) before starting their degree. 52.4% (n= 11) of fourth year students stated that they had received theoretical training vs. 34.6% (n= 9) of first year students; and 23.8% (n= 5) of fourth year students had received practical training vs. 3.8% (n= 1) of first year students. Students in their fourth year achieved higher scores in those items related to self-perception of their skills of action towards the victim, and knowledge about the IPVAW. In first and fourth year, they identified that being a woman was a top factor of risk for suffering abuse. Students from both years felt less qualified to complete the legal requirements associated with abuse reporting.Conclusion: the implementation of a teaching guide improved the ability of students to detect cases of IPVAW, showing the difficulties to apply the knowledge acquired into specific scenarios.