The role of reflective capacity in clinical self-efficacy of nursing students: a cross-sectional study
Maasoumeh Barkhordari-Sharifabad, Zeynab Alipour, Reyhane Jahantab
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The ability of nursing students to reflect may change their thinking and potentially impact their clinical self-efficacy. This study aims to determine the role of reflective capacity in the clinical self-efficacy of nursing students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on nursing students at Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University/Iran, in 2024. A total of 199 nursing students were selected through a census method. To collect data, the demographic information form, the reflective capacity scale (RCS), and self-efficacy in clinical performance (SECP) for nursing students were used. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS 20 software. RESULTS: The mean reflective capacity of the students was 4.39 ± 0.51, with the highest and lowest mean scores associated with the dimension of active self-appraisal (4.58 ± 0.62) and reflective-in-action (4.23 ± 0.67), respectively. The mean score of clinical self-efficacy was 119.98 ± 20.91. A direct and significant correlation was found between reflective capacity and clinical self-efficacy (r = 0.366, p < 0.001). Also, the findings indicated that reflective capacity predicted 13% of students' clinical self-efficacy (β = 0.92, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Nursing students with higher reflective capacity have greater clinical self-efficacy. Therefore, reflection should be guided and facilitated by nursing educators. Nursing educators can use innovative teaching methods to enhance the development of reflective capacity, subsequently leading to improved clinical self-efficacy.