Background: Good nursing competence is a challenge for nursing staff. There are still some nurses who are considered incompetent in carrying out their duties, such as patient safety incidents in hospitals, low communication with patients. The problem of low nurse competency is caused by many factors including the role of the headroom.

Purpose: to analyze the relationship between the role of the headroom to nurse competency in several hospitals on the banks of the Barito River.

Methods: The research design used a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted on nurses in three hospitals (n=155 people) with inclusion criteria as implementing nurses, working at least 1 year, and not on leave. The questionnaire was made by himself. The data were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test.

Results: The results showed that the average nurse competency was 88.09, while the average role of the headroom was 41.15. There is a significant relationship between the role of the headroom with nurse competency (p = 0.0001 r = 0.308). The right competence of nurses will provide services that are more effective, efficient, and safe for both patients. The better the role of the headroom, the better the competence of nurses.

Conclusion: There is a correlation between the role of the headroom with the nurse competency. Hospital managers are expected to be able to place nurses according to their competencies so that patient safety is guaranteed in hospitals

Keywords: nurse competency, nurse, the role of headroom