Crisis resource management competencies in Portuguese nurses

Aim: To assess Portuguese nurses’ crisis resource management competencies in simulated emergency scenarios. Design: Quantitative, descriptive-correlational, and cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were collected between January and June 2024 using a paper-based questionnaire that included items on socio-professional characteristics and a translated version ofthe Ottawa Global Rating Scale for Crisis Resource Management. The unidimensional scale demonstrated high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92. Participants were recruited through non-probability convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics, version 28. Results: A total of 69 valid assessments were obtained using the Portuguese version of the Ottawa Global Rating Scale. Overall, 71.0% of participants demonstrated standard-level performance, while 27.5% achieved superior performance. The dimension in which exceptional competence was least frequently observed was Leadership (21.7%), whereas the highest proportion of exceptional competence was found inResource Utilization (34.8%). Conclusion: This study enabled the assessment of nurses’ crisis resource management competencies within simulated emergency scenarios. Given the critical role of non-technical skills in ensuring patient safety, there is an urgent need to develop strategies that strengthen nurses’ leadership capabilities.