The Rapid Response Team (RRT) was introduced to reduce critical events such as unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, cardiac arrest, and death by enabling early detection of patient deterioration in general wards and timely intervention. In ...
The Rapid Response Team (RRT) was introduced to reduce critical events such as unplanned intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, cardiac arrest, and death by enabling early detection of patient deterioration in general wards and timely intervention. In Korea, RRTs are predominantly nurse-led, requiring nurses to utilize specialized knowledge and skills. Therefore, clinical reasoning competence is essential for RRT nurses to make optimal clinical judgments for clinically ill patients in general wards.
This study aimed to examine the levels of clinical reasoning competence, clinical competence, and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) competence among RRT nurses, and to examine the correlations between clinical reasoning competence and the related factors. From September 5 to 19, 2025, a total of 134 nurses working in RRTs nationwide were recruited through an online community of RRT nurses. Clinical reasoning competence was measured using the Korean version of the Nurse Clinical Reasoning Scale (NCRS), translated by Jung and Han (2017) based on the scale developed by Liou et al. (2016). Clinical competence was assessed using a tool originally developed by Lee et al. (1990) and subsequently revised. IPC competence was measured using the Korean-translated version of the Interprofessional Collaborative Competency Attainment Survey (ICCAS) developed by Archibald et al. (2014) and translated by Kim and Roh (2024). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 31, including descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients.
The results of this study are as follows.
1) A total of 89 nurses (66.4%) were in their 30s, and 118 (88.1%) were female. A bachelor’s degree was the most common educational level (89 nurses, 66.4%). A total clinical experience of 12 years or more was reported by 51 nurses (38.1%). RRT experience of 1 year or more but less than 3 years accounted for 73 nurses (54.5%). Combined emergency department or ICU experience of 5 years or more but less than 10 years was the most common (49 nurses, 36.6%). More than half of the nurses worked in tertiary hospitals (93 nurses, 69.4%), and most belonged to RRT level 2 (103 nurses, 76.9%).
2) The mean scores of clinical reasoning competence, clinical competence, and interprofessional collaboration competence were 62.55±7.05 out of 75, 4.24±0.47, and 3.99±0.55 out of 5, respectively.
3) Clinical reasoning competence differed significantly according to education level (F = 4.647, p = .004), RRT experience (F=3.966, p=.010), and hospital level (t = −2.233, p=.028). Nurses with a master’s degree (65.85 ± 6.00) scored significantly higher than those with a bachelor’s degree (61.20 ± 7.20) (p=.008). Nurses with ≥5 years of RRT experience showed higher scores than those with <1 year (p=.020). Nurses in tertiary hospitals had significantly higher clinical reasoning competence than those in general hospitals (p=.028).
4) Clinical reasoning competence demonstrated significant positive correlations with clinical competence (r=.767, p<.001) and IPC competence
(r=.773, p<.001).
In conclusion, clinical reasoning competence among RRT nurses is strongly associated with both clinical competence and IPC competence. These findings underscore the need to strengthen clinical reasoning, clinical competence, and interprofessional collaboration among RRT nurses. Furthermore, the results suggest the necessity of developing and evaluating educational programs aimed at enhancing RRT nurse competencies, as well as conducting follow-up studies across diverse institutions and regions.