en Nursing Orginal research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><strong><em>Background</em></strong><em>:</em></span> The importance of clinical competency in nurses indicates the necessity of evaluating this criterion for nurses working in Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 departments.<br> <strong><em><span style="color:#2980b9;">Objectives:</span> </em></strong>Comparison of clinical competency in nurses working in Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 departments of university hospitals in Zanjan city in 2020.<br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><strong><em>Methods:</em></strong></span> Following a convenient sampling method, this cross-sectional study recruited 220 registered nurses working at hospitals affiliated to the Zanjan University of Medical Sciences with at least six months of work experience. Data were collected using a demographic information form and competency inventory for registered nurses (CIRN). Mann Whitney U test was used to compare study groups.<br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><strong><em>Results</em>:</strong></span>&nbsp;There was a significant difference between nurses working in Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 departments concerning clinical competency, so that those in Covid-19 departments were more competent (p-value=0.001).<br> <span style="color:#2980b9;"><strong><em>Conclusion:</em></strong></span> The observed difference requires more attention and particular interventions, including promoting teamwork, engaging staff in decision-making processes, job supports, reducing conflicts and role ambiguities, and increasing control over employment-related events</span></span></span></div> Clinical Competency, Exposure, Covid-19 53 58 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-63-5&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Masomeh Ahmadi masomehahmadi608@gmail.com 100319475328460014234 100319475328460014234 No Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Mojghan Sadat Aghvamy aghvamym@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460014235 100319475328460014235 Yes Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran Zeinab Ghahremani ghahremani@zums.ac.ir 100319475328460014236 100319475328460014236 No Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran