A Study on the Relationship between Career Identity and Clinical Competency in Nursing Students

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the level of career identity and clinical competency and the relationships between them in nursing students. Method: Subjects were junior students of 2 colleges in Daegu(N=217). A self-rating questionnaire included demographic data, career identity of nursing students and the clinical competency Korean scale. We received consents from teachers and students. The data was analyzed by frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient using the SPSS 12.0 Program. Result: The mean score of career identity was 31.90 points and clinical competency was 145.13. Career identity showed a significant difference in the age, satisfaction of college entrance and satisfaction of clinical practice. Clinical competency showed a significant difference in the sex, marriage, satisfaction of college entrance and satisfaction of clinical practice. The data showed a negative correlation between career identity and clinical competency. Conclusion: It is necessary to find affecting factors on career identity of nursing students and to develop objective tools for clinical competency and to improve clinical competency programs.