Iranian nurses’ self-reported mastery and use of musculoskeletal assessment skills

Background: Nurses are the key members of the health-care team and play an important role in the assessment of the patients’ problems. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate Iranian nurses’ self-reported mastery and use of musculoskeletal assessment skills. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2018 to January 2019 on 200 nurses in Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan, Iran. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire including a demographic data form and 16 self-report items on nurses’ mastery in the assessment of the musculoskeletal system. The levels of self-reported mastery and use of the musculoskeletal assessment skills in patient care were assessed. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance, and the Pearson correlation analysis. Results: Nurses obtained 83.25% of the score in the area of using health history taking skills, while they obtained 86.94% of the score of mastery in this field. Furthermore, nurses gained 33.77% of the score in the area of using physical examination skills, while they gained 44.53% of the score of mastery in this area. The most commonly used musculoskeletal assessment skills were “checking the range of motion of the joints” and “checking muscle strength” that were used in 20.5% of cases. However, nurses rarely used specific tests such as the Patrick’s, ballottement, and Lasègue tests. A significant direct correlation was found between nurses’ self-reported mastery in musculoskeletal assessment skills and the use of these skills (r = 0.44, P = 0.001). Conclusion: Despite the desirable levels of nurses’ self-reported mastery and use of history taking skills, the level of their self-reported mastery and use of musculoskeletal assessment skills are not satisfactory.