Correlation between Communication Competence, Problem-Solving Skills, Clinical Competence, and Critical Thinking Competence on Person-Centered Care Competence of Nursing Students in who Experienced Clinical Practice

Purpose: This study is a descriptive research study conducted to identify the relationship and influencing factors between communication competence, critical thinking competence, problem-solving ability, clinical performance competence and person-centered care competence of nursing students who have experienced clinical practice. Method: The subjects of this study were students enrolled in the nursing departments of two four-year universities located in 2 areas, and the 3rd and 4th graders who had more than 1 semester of clinical practice were conveniently extracted. Data were collected from September to December 2023. Data analysis was analyzed using the SPSS 21.0 program by t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: As a result of the study, There were significant differences in communication competence in gender (p=.029), age (p=.039), grade (p=.030), satisfaction with nursing department (p<.001), satisfaction with clinical practice (p<.001), number of participation in personality-related education (p=.012), volunteer time (p=.011), the need for person-centered care at the nursing site (p<.001), and the degree of interpersonal relationships (p<.001). In terms of problem-solving skill, there were significant differences in grade (p=.011), religion (p<.001), clinical practice satisfaction (p=.003), volunteer time (p=.003), clinical practice experience department (p=.041), the need for person-centered care at the nursing site (p<.001), and interpersonal relations (p<.001). In terms of clinical performance competence, there were significant differences in religion (p=.005), satisfaction with clinical practice (p<.005), number of participation in personality-related education (p=.030), volunteer time (p=.002), clinical practice experience department (p=.005), the need for person-centered care at the nursing site (p<.001), and interpersonal relationship (p<.001). In terms of person-centered care competence of nursing, there were significant differences in gender (p=.008), religion (p=.002), satisfaction with clinical practice (p<.001), volunteer time (p=.002), the need for person-centered care at the nursing site (p<.001), and interpersonal relationship (p<.001). Subject's communication competence averaged 4.04 out of 5, problem-solving skill was 3.87 points, clinical performance competence was 4.09, critical thinking competence was 3.87 points, and person-centered care competence was 4.21 points. Person-centered care competence was found to have a significant positive correlation with communication competence (r=.511, p<.001), problem-solving skill (r=.601, p<.001), clinical performance competence (r=.813, p<.001), and critical thinking competence (r=.423, p<.001). The more time nursing students spent volunteering, the better their interpersonal relationships, and the more they felt the need for person-centered care at the nursing site, the higher their person-centered care competence. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to induce nursing students to use a lot of volunteer programs in order to increase their person-centered care competence, and it is necessary to develop and actively guide convergence extracurricular activities linked to subjects. In the clinical field, it is necessary to develop and apply an effective clinical practice program based on a person-centered nursing model in which students analyze subjects and solve problems through the reasoning process of critical thinking.