Academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice in nursing students: A descriptive and correlational design

Abstract

BackgroundThe academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice of nursing students are important factors for academic achievement, quality of nursing care, and the transition process of new graduate nurses into the profession. ObjectiveThis research was conducted to determine whether sociodemographic variables on their own or in combination with one another have an effect on the academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice among nursing students. DesignA descriptive and correlational design. SettingThe study was conducted in the nursing department of a state university in Ankara, Turkey. ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 832 nursing students. MethodsThe data were collected via the Casey-Fink Readiness for Practice Survey, the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Student Personal Responsibility Scale −10. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Multivariate Analysis of Variance, and the Tukey Honesty Significant Difference test. ResultsNursing students who engaged in clinical practice, developed care plans, and participated in case discussions had higher levels of academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice. Nursing students who were satisfied with studying nursing and desired to work as a nurse after graduation had higher levels of academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice. First-year students had lower levels of readiness for professional practice, while fourth-year students had significantly higher levels of academic self-efficacy and personal responsibility compared to students in other years. ConclusionThis study demonstrated that variables such as academic level, gender, practical applications for readiness to practice, satisfaction with studying nursing, and desire to work as a nurse after graduation significantly influenced the levels of academic self-efficacy, personal responsibility, and readiness for professional practice.