2026-08-27

International Perspectives on Nurse Professional Competence — The First International NPC Workshop 2026

The NPC Research Group invites researchers, educators and clinicians to the first International NPC Workshop, 27 August 2026, 11.00–14.50 CET, with speakers from Sweden, Norway, Japan, China, Indonesia, Italy and Jordan.

The Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) Research Group is proud to announce the First International NPC Workshop 2026 — a half-day programme bringing together international perspectives on nurse professional competence.

Date and time: 27 August 2026, 11.00–14.50 CET (05.00–08.50 Canada · 17.00–20.50 Indonesia · 18.00–21.50 Japan). Onsite networking with buffet follows at 15.00.

The workshop opens with a welcome and presentation of the NPC Research Group by its President, Professor Jan Nilsson, followed by an introduction of participants moderated by Professor Emerita Margret Lepp. The keynote, "The new role of advanced practice nurses in Sweden", is given by Ing-Marie Moegelin, RN, Specialist Nurse in Cancer Care and Senior Advisor for Education Policy and Development at the Swedish Society of Nursing.

Each session is anchored in peer-reviewed publications on nurse professional competence from the group and its international collaborators. The full programme and reference list are given below.

Contact: Professor Jan Nilsson – jan.i.nilsson@kau.se

Programme

Time (CET)

Topic

Presenter

11.00
Opening and welcoming. Presentation of the NPC Research Group
President: Professor Jan Nilsson
11.05
Introduction of the workshop participants
Moderator: Professor Emerita Margret Lepp
11.15
Keynote: The new role of advanced practice nurses in Sweden
Ing-Marie Moegelin, RN, Specialist Nurse in Cancer Care, Senior Advisor for Education Policy and Development at the Swedish Society of Nursing
11.30–11.50
1. Global Application of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale: a scoping review protocol
Professor Jan Nilsson
11.50–12.10
2. Global perspectives on nurse professional competence — focus on the international workforce and NPC
Professor Jehad Halabi · Dr Denice Högstedt
12.10–12.30
3. Two new brief versions of the NPC Scale: NPC-6 and NPC-12
Professor Maria Engström · Professor Lijuan Xu
12.30–12.40
Break
12.40–13.00
4. Competence across specialties and healthcare systems — focus on nurses within health systems and NPC
Professor Jehad Halabi · Associate Professor Anne Flodén
13.00–13.20
5. Nurses' competence and quality of working life
Professor Lijuan Xu · Dr Kewen Zhu
13.20–13.40
6. Gender and professional competence
Professor Emerita Marianne Carlsson
13.40–14.00
7. Nursing competencies in Indonesia: current status and future challenges
Lely Lusmilasari, S.Kp., M.Kes., PhD
14.00–14.20
8. Nursing education in crisis
Professor Ann Gardulf · Professor Randi Martinsen · Professor Mika Tanaka
14.20–14.40
9. Experiences regarding the psychometric properties of the NPC Scale and the related publications from Italy
Associate Professor Ippolito Notarnicola
14.40–14.50
Closing of the workshop
Professor Jan Nilsson
15.00
Onsite networking with buffet

Reference list — published articles related to the workshop topics

1Nilsson, J., Engström, M., & Larsson, M. (2025). Global Application of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale: a scoping review protocol. Open Science Framework. https://osf.io/yqzhp/files/gb4x8
2Halabi, J., Lepp, M., & Nilsson, J. (2020). Assessing Self-Reported Competence among Registered Nurses Working as a Culturally Diverse Work Force in Public Hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 1–9. doi:10.1177/1043659620921222 · Högstedt, D., Eriksson, E., Jansson, I., & Engström, M. (2024). Self-rated professional competence and well-being at work after obtaining a Swedish nursing license: A longitudinal mixed-methods study of internationally and domestically educated nurses. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 157. doi:10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2024.104812
3Engström, M., Xu, L., Nilsson, J., Carlsson, M., & Flodén, A. (2026). Development and validation of two brief versions of the Nurse Professional Competence (NPC) Scale: The NPC-6 and NPC-12. Nurse Education Today, 164, 107141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2026.107141
4Halabi, J., Lepp, M., & Nilsson, J. (2021). Professional competence among registered nurses working in hospitals in Saudi Arabia and their experiences of quality of nursing care and patient safety. Journal of Transcultural Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659621992845 · Flodén, A., Lepp, M., Tilander, P., Svensson, A., & Nilsson, J. (2025). Nurses' Self-Reported Professional Competence: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Regional Teaching Hospital in Sweden. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 0:1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.70057
5Xu, L., Zhu, K., Nilsson, A., & Engström, M. (2025). Nurse professional competence as a mediator between structural empowerment and person-centered climate in hospital settings: A cross-sectional observational study. Journal of Nursing Management, 2025, Article ID 2078705. https://doi.org/10.1155/jonm/2078705
6Carlsson, M. (2019). Self-reported competence in female and male nursing students in the light of theories of hegemonic masculinity and femininity. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi:10.1111/jan.14220
7Lusmilasari, L., Perdana, M., Pangastuti, H. S., Pertiwi, A. A. P., Nilsson, J., & Lepp, M. (2025). Translation, Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale Into Bahasa Indonesia. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 31:e70064. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijn.70064
8Martinsen, R., Berg, M., Nakrem, S., & Gardulf, A. (2025). Nursing Education in Crisis: Exploring Norwegian Students' Competence and Learning Disruptions Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. Norwegian National Research Archive · Tanabe, S., Tanaka, M., Arai, Y., Matsuo, K., Nakrem, S., & Gardulf, A. (2025). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Japanese version of the Nurse Professional Competence Scale Short-Form. Belitung Nursing Journal, 11(2), 252–260. doi:10.33546/bnj.3726