The Relationship between Clinical Competence and Ethical Reasoning and Factors Affecting it in Nurses Working in Therapeutic Educational Centers of Ilam

Clinical competence means a person's ability to use techniques on time, to communicate effectively with others, and to benefit from the knowledge and clinical reasoning ability when responding to different clinical situations in such a way that a person can use these skills at all times. The aim of the study is the relationship between clinical competence and ethical reasoning and the factors affecting it in nurses working in therapeutic educational centers of Ilam. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 110 nurses working in three therapeutic educational centers in Ilam city were randomly selected. Demographic information forms, standard nursing clinical competence questionnaire (NCCQ), and nursing dilemma test (NDT) were used to collect data. The results also showed a positive and significant relationship between age, level of education, years of work experience, employment status, and occupational role with clinical competence and ethical reasoning (P<0.05). On the other hand, there was an inverse and significant relationship between the workplace and clinical competence and ethical reasoning (P<0.05). Data analysis was carried out using Descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and analytical tests (Pearson correlation tests and analysis of variance) in SPSS. P-value< 0.05 was considered as the significance level. Using the results of the present study, nursing education planners and managers can periodically organize workshops on nursing ethics and nursing problems in hospitals and universities. Moreover, clinical competence and ethical reasoning should be taken into account when training nursing personnel in university classrooms and in-service courses.