The Effect of Internal Entrepreneurship on Patient-Centered Care Competence in Nursing Services

This study aimed to determine the internal entrepreneurship levels and patient-centered care competencies of nurses and to examine the effect of internal entrepreneurship characteristics on nurses' patient-centered care competence.

Internal entrepreneurship is defined as innovative activities within organizations. In the healthcare field, the transition from physician-centered care to patient-centered care has gained importance. It is thought that increasing nurses' internal entrepreneurship characteristics will positively contribute to improving the quality of patient-centered care practices.

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between October and November 2019 in a university hospital in Turkey. The sample consisted of 580 nurses who voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected using the Nurse Information Form, the Internal Entrepreneurship Scale, and the Patient-Centered Care Competence Scale. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation analysis, and regression analysis.

The study found that nurses had high levels of internal entrepreneurship and patient-centered care competence. There was a statistically significant and positive relationship between internal entrepreneurship and patient-centered care competence (r = 0.888, p < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that internal entrepreneurship had a significant effect on patient-centered care competence (R² = 0.789, p < 0.001). Among the sub-dimensions of internal entrepreneurship, risk-taking and proactivity were found to have the strongest impact on patient-centered care competence. In addition, socio-demographic characteristics such as age, marital status, education level, and years of experience caused significant differences in internal entrepreneurship and patient-centered care competence levels.

The study concluded that increasing nurses' internal entrepreneurship characteristics positively contributes to enhancing their competence in providing patient-centered care. It is recommended to support and develop nurses' internal entrepreneurship characteristics to improve the quality of patient-centered care practices.