Factors influencing the clinical competence of nursing students

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing the clinical competence of nursing students.Methods : The participants of this study were 209 nursing students who were in 3rd and 4th grade. The collected data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression.Results : Clinical competence had positive relationships with self-leadership (r=.59, p ＜.001) and resilience (r=.64, p ＜.001). Clinical competence was influenced by resilience (β=.45), self-leadership (β=.20), and grade (β=.20), with an explanatory power of 44.9%.Conclusions : Based on these results, it is suggested that future nursing education should develop a curriculum that enhances students’ personal abilities such as self-leadership and resilience, rather than only teaching knowledge and skills.