The aim of the study was to compare professional competence of nurses who completed different bridging programmes. Forty professional nurses from two different bridging programmes participated in the study. The newly qualified registered nurses were all from the province of Kwazulu- Natal working in various hospitals.The researcher utilized Slater Nursing Competencies Rating Scale. The instrument had the following categories (a) psychosocial (individual), psychosocial (group), (c) physical needs, (d) general, (e) communication and (0 professional implications. The results showed that newly qualified nurses from different bridging programmes were professionally competent. Age, experience and examination results had no relationship with the professional competency of the newly qualified nurse.