[An evolutionist analysis of competence].

For several years, many nursing education institutions have implemented the recommendations made in 2003 by the Institute of Medicine. Some have conducted a redesign of the structure of their program to integrate competency-based approach. What is a competence in this context? The purpose of this concept analysis is to clarify the meaning of the concept of competence from its recent use in nursing education. Rodgers' method of concept analysis was selected as it is relevant to explore this concept. A literature review in nursing was conducted from the CINAHL database. After analyzing the results, although no consensus appears in the literature, it seems that a competence could be defined as a formal action of systemic skills, contextualized and which is continuously developing. This definition differs from the behaviorist one sometimes used, where competences are synonymous with technical skills. To continue the development of this concept, it would be interesting to explore how it has evolved in other disciplines, such as education sciences or medicine.