The relationship between undergraduate nursing students' satisfaction about clinical learning environment and their competency self-efficacy

Abstract

Competency self-efficacy (CSE) in clinical nursing practice is necessitated to be attained by the undergraduate nursing students. It is a significant indicator of the work's acceptance and commitment to nursing roles. Self-efficacy in nursing experience enhances nursing student's abilities to achieve the clinical tasks independently, mainly in wide range field of care like Medical-Surgical Nursing. Some factors are affecting competency self-efficacy in the clinical nursing practice; the most evident factor is the nursing student’s impressions with their clinical learning environment (CLE). In the light of educational preparation for nursing undergraduates, the Faculties of Nursing emphasize to preserve a high quality of clinical learning environment for clinical nursing essentials. The clinical learning environment has an apparent function in building up students' confidence, and competency self-efficacy, particularly, during clinical skills achievement. The current paper aimed to determine undergraduate nursing student's satisfaction about the clinical learning environment and their competency self-efficacy, and then investigate the relationship between both variables. Thus, the study conducted through a descriptive, correlative research design with all nursing students who enrolled in third and fourth academic semesters (second year) during their clinical training in Medical-Surgical Nursing course, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. A triple-section questionnaire was used for data collection: First; nursing student’s sociodemographic profile, Second: Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) which was constructed by Chan in 2002. Third: Nursing Competency Self Efficacy Scale (CSES) which was developed by Kennedy in 2013. The results showed that the undergraduate nursing students at Medical-Surgical training, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, have a high satisfaction level about the clinical learning environment concerning all components of the clinical placement. As well, they have a high competency self-efficacy level in all nursing activities and tasks in the clinical training. Further, there is an obvious parallel correlation between nursing student's satisfaction about clinical learning environment and their competency self-efficacy which is significant. Conclusion & Recommendations: Adequate and planned arrangements should be settled in the nursing curricula for the nursing clinical training setting. Too, the clinical instructors should encourage students' trials to do difficult nursing tasks in a successful manner which tends to increase the student's competency self-efficacy. Further researches are required to investigate the factors affecting clinical learning environment satisfaction and competency self-efficacy among nursing students in their clinical placement. Additionally, another research is necessary about; developing an educational program about student's competency self-efficacy to guide nursing instructors in clinical training.