Capability: How is it recognised in student nurses undertaking postgraduate studies in neonatal intensive care?

Historically, nursing practice has been evaluated by assessing competence. While competence is a necessary component of clinical practice it does not provide an holistic picture of performance in practice; Capability is more comprehensive. This paper presents the findings from research, using the iterative principles of grounded theory to gather qualitative data to elicit nuances implying Capability in neonatal nurses. Semi-structured interviews with experienced mentors of students enrolled in any Postgraduate Certificate in Neonatal Intensive Care (PG Cert NIC) in Australia were undertaken to clarify what it is that students demonstrate, which provides evidence of being Capable in practice. The implications drawn from these interviews is that Capability is evaluated through various verbal and non-verbal behavioural cues. Although this research focuses on registered nurses in Australia undertaking PG Cert NIC, ideally these findings could be applied internationally, to any post-registration qualification in the specialty area of neonatal intensive care nursing.