Background: In the past several decades, assertiveness and psychological empowerment have played an important role in developing successful nurses. Nurse leaders who can empower others will be able to motivate the frontline nurses with whom they work and help them manage difficult events in the workplace. The purpose of the study was to examine the correlation between the level of assertiveness and psychological empowerment possessed by the year 3 Diploma in nursing students at a private healthcare University College in Malaysia. Methods: A quantitative cross sectional survey design with convenience sampling was used in this study. The questionnaires were distributed to 144 prospective respondents using google forms. The response rate was 86% (n-119). Findings Based on the findings, the final-year students are non-assertive (53.8% representing 64 respondents) and not psychologically empowered (100% representing 119 respondents). Moreover, the study showed a positive and significant correlation between assertiveness and psychological empowerment at 0.570 with a p-value curriculum revision to include elements of assertiveness or psychological empowerment as soft skills development during nursing training