Impact of critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, and leadership on clinical competence in nursing students.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships among critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, leadership and clinical competence, and identify the factors influencing clinical competence in nursing students.
Methods: In this descriptive study, 153 nursing students (from 2nd to 4th school year) of a university in South Korea were enrolled in December 2010. The instruments for this study were the Korean versions of the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Leadership Inventory, and Clinical Competence Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, MANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression with PASW 18.0 software.
Results: The mean scores (ranging from 1 to 5) in nursing students for critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, leadership, and clinical competence were 3.44, 3.51, 3.55, and 3.42, respectively. Positive correlations were found for clinical competence with critical thinking disposition, general self-efficacy, and leadership. The strongest predictor of clinical competence was leadership. In addition, leadership, nursing school year, and subjective academic achievement accounted for 34.5% of variance in clinical competence.
Conclusion: This study revealed that developing leadership, critical thinking disposition, and self-efficacy in undergraduate nursing education is important to improve clinical competence of nursing students.