Factors Influencing Clinical Competence in Nursing Students

Development and effects of a high-risk pregnancy emotive role-play program for nursing students: a quasi-experimental study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop an emotive role-play program for nursing students focusingon high-risk pregnancy and analyze its effects on communication skills, clinical performance, andemotional intelligence.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental nonequivalent comparison group design was adopted with 83nursing students (experimental group, 45; comparison group, 38) who participated voluntarily in anextracurricular program. The preliminary survey was conducted on November 3 and November 4,2020, and the follow-up survey was conducted on November 12, 2020, for the comparison groupand on November 27, 2020, for the experimental group. A program that included five role-play scenarios related to induced labor, preeclampsia, premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, andinfertility was developed by a group of experts and presented to the experimental group over 11 totalhours across 3 days. Each student participated in a role-play scenario as a patient, family member, ornurse and observed three other scenarios. The comparison group received a workbook after the follow-up evaluation. The independent t-test was performed to analyze changes in communicationskills, clinical performance, and emotional intelligence.

RESULTS

Communication skills (t=1.84, p=.035) and clinical performance (t=2.75, p=.004) significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the comparison group. A significant difference was not observed between the experimental and comparison groups for emotional intelligence(t=1.36, p=.088).

CONCLUSION

The emotive role-play program concerning high-risk pregnancy was effective in improving nursing students' communication skills and clinical performance and can be used in nursingeducation related to high-risk pregnancy and childbirth.

Interpersonal skills mediate the relationship between communicative and clinical competencies among nursing students: A descriptive study

BACKGROUND

The development of clinical competency reduces nursing students' stress and turnover intention and improves their clinical practice satisfaction and academic performance. Still, many nursing supervisors feel that new graduate nurses have inadequate communicative and clinical competencies, and no prior study has analyzed the mediating effect of interpersonal skills in the relationship between these two variables.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the factors that affect nursing students' clinical competency, including the mediating effect of interpersonal skills, and to identify/determine interventions that promote it and improve students' clinical performance.

DESIGN

This study employed a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design.

SETTING

Four departments of nursing in Jeollabuk-do, South Korea.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants (N = 222; mean age = 22.7 years; 75.2% women) were students enrolled in the third and fourth year of nursing.

METHODS

From February 5-28, 2018, we collected data through self-reported questionnaires; these asked about participants' demographic characteristics and measured their communicative competency, interpersonal skills, and clinical competency. The relationships among the variables were identified using Pearson's correlation coefficient. We also used the Sobel test and a three-step multiple regression analysis to verify the mediating effects of interpersonal skills.

RESULTS

Students who were female, in their fourth year, satisfied with their major, and satisfied with their clinical practice had higher clinical competency scores than their counterparts. Interpersonal skills completely mediated the effects of communicative competency on clinical competency (explanatory power = 53.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest the need for a program that improves nursing students' social relationship skills and diminishes their anxiety. In particular, students in the third and fourth years need a continuous/intensified curriculum that fosters their communicative competencies, such as listening to patients' needs and establishing effective interpersonal relationships with peers/superiors. Longitudinal studies are warranted to identify differences in communicative/clinical competencies among nursing students in different academic years.

The mediating effects on the relationship between campus life adaptation and clinical competence

BACKGROUND

The solution to the shortage of nursing staff is to improve the quality of nursing education and training rather than to increase the admission capacity. It is necessary for the university to establish the current level of nursing education and find ways to improve it. The clinical competence of nursing college students is an ability to perform the desired nursing role to solve the nursing needs of the subjects in the clinical field, which is an important aspect of nursing students' practical training. Therefore, to improve the quality of practical training, it is necessary to improve the clinical competence of nursing students.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating effect of social support and resilience on the relationships of campus life adaptation and clinical competence.

DESIGN

This study is of a cross-sectional, descriptive correlation design.

METHODS

Characteristics of the respondents, campus life adaptation, social support, resilience, and clinical competence were collected, using self-reported questionnaires, from July 1 to September 10, 2017. Data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA with Scheffe post hoc, Pearson correlation coefficients, the 3-steps multiple regression statistics of Baron and Kenny.

RESULTS

Social support and resilience had a partial mediating effect on the relationships of campus life adaptation and clinical competence. In addition, clinical competence increased as more male nursing students enrolled and more students adapted well to the nursing department.

CONCLUSIONS

The result of this study is expected to be used as evidence data for the development of a program to improve the clinical competence of nursing students.

Perceived Clinical Competence among Undergraduate Nursing Students in the University of Gondar and Bahir Dar University, Northwest Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Institution Based Study

Introduction. To produce competent, confident, critical thinker with the ability to lead, to question, and to be questioned is needed in nursing education. This study aimed to assess perceived clinical competence among nursing students. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in two nursing schools in Ethiopia. Data were collected using pretested, semistructured questionnaire. Clinical competence was measured by Short Nursing Competence Questionnaires. Binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify associated factors. An adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was computed. Results. Overall, 48.7 % of the participants perceived themselves as clinically competent. Social support [moderate (AOR = 5.87, CI: 1.346, 9.586), high (AOR = 6.27, CI: 1.741, 7.608)], type of institution [(AOR = 3.20, CI: 1.331, 7.694)], year of study [(AOR = 1.89 (4.760, 18.510)], attending theoretical classes [(AOR = 0.83 CI: 0.017, 0.412)], and clinical environment [poor (AOR = 5.65, CI: 1.837, 13.453), fair (AOR = 7.31, CI: 2.790, 15.356), good (AOR = 9.31, CI: 3.260, 19.967)] were associated with clinical competence. Conclusion. More than half of the study participants perceived themselves as incompetent. Social support, type of institution, year of study, attending theory classes, and clinical environment were associated with perceived clinical competence. Authors suggested that nursing students attend their theoretical class and utilize the available resource.