Self-Leadership and Associated Factors in Nursing Students: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Leadership Development
• Student Self-Perception

Background:

• High pressure on nurse leaders necessitates self-leadership skills.
• Developing self-leadership early is crucial for nursing students.
• Self-leadership aids nurse leaders in thriving amidst pressure.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate nursing students' perceptions of self-leadership.
• Identify factors associated with self-leadership in students.
• Understand the application of self-leadership strategies by students.

Main Methods:

• Explanatory sequential mixed-methods design.
• Quantitative survey of 943 nursing students using Revised Self-Leadership Questionnaire.
• Qualitative analysis of 13 students via focus group interviews.

Main Results:

• Higher self-leadership perceptions linked to employment, extracurricular involvement, managerial roles, and career goals.
• Barriers to self-leadership include comfort zones, overthinking, and procrastination.
• Enhancing factors for self-leadership are self-respect, self-awareness, and self-determination.

Conclusions:

• Nurse educators should create interventions to foster self-leadership.
• Students need opportunities for planning roles and self-paced advancement.
• Interventions should focus on developing self-leadership skills in nursing students.