Self-efficacy and clinical competence of fourth-year nursing students: A self-reported study

The current investigation aims to assess the level of clinical competence and self-efficacy of fourth-year nursing students, and its relationship to the students' demographic characteristics. To achieve this, the researchers used a quantitative-comparative approach. The respondents of the study were fourth-year nursing students from the University of Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who were identified through convenience sampling with all fourth-year students. The clinical competence questionnaire and general self-efficacy scale tools were adapted for use in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the participants' demographic characteristics, level of clinical competence, and level of self-efficacy. The Pearson r test was also utilized to explore the relationship between the study variables. Both the level of clinical competency (m = 3.50, SD = 1.252) and self-efficacy (m = 3.23, SD = 0.837) of the students was high. The Pearson r test indicated no significant correlation between the students' clinical competence level and gender. However, a significant correlation was noted between the students' clinical competence level and program type, civil status, and age. No significant correlation was found between the students' self-efficacy level and gender, civil status, or age, yet a significant correlation was found between the students' self-efficacy level and program type. A significant correlation was also noted between clinical competence level and self-efficacy level. The students had high clinical and self-efficacy levels, which nursing students must display to perform acceptably within standard roles and responsibilities in clinical settings. Hence, the fourth-year nursing students had the clinical capabilities to organize and implement the necessary courses of action. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by IASE.