Unveiling the Relationships of Professional Identity, Values and Communication Competence in Nursing Students'...

This study aimed to explore factors related to clinical practice behaviours and investigate the role of clinical communication competence in promoting professional identity/values and clinical practice behaviours among nursing students.

Between July and August 2023, a cross-sectional online survey were conducted among 791 nursing students undergoing clinical internships at a tertiary hospital in Hunan Province, China, using convenience sampling methods. The Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nurse Students, the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised, the Clinical Communication Competence Scale and the Clinical Practice Behaviours Scale were used to assess students' professional identity, professional values, clinical communication competence and clinical practice behaviours, respectively. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA and Pearson's correlation were performed. Mediation models explored relationships between professional identity, professional values, communication competence and clinical practice behaviours, with communication competence as a mediator. Indirect effects were tested using bias-corrected bootstrapping (5000 iterations) via the PROCESS macro.

The findings revealed that professional identity and professional values directly and indirectly influenced clinical practice behaviours in nursing students. Moreover, clinical communication competence was identified as a significant mediator in the relationship between professional identity (indirect effect = 0.11; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.09, 0.14], accounting for 23.4% of the total effect)/values (indirect effect = -0.13; 95% CI: [0.10, 0.17], accounting for 27.7% of the total effect) and clinical practice behaviours. Professional identity, professional values, clinical communication competence and clinical practice behaviours were found to have positive correlations with one another (Pearson's r ranged: 0.45-0.72, all ps < 0.05).

This study sheds light on factors influencing nursing students' clinical practice behaviour, including professional identity, professional values and clinical communication competence. These insights can inform evidence-based strategies for nursing education and practice, facilitating targeted interventions to enhance students' professional development and clinical competence.

No patient or public contribution was involved.