Academic self-efficacy and perceived stressors for surgical practice in nursing students: A descriptive and correlational design

Abstract

Background: In high-stress surgical settings, it's crucial to recognize nursing students' academic self-confidence and the stressors they perceive. This understanding helps them effectively navigate their educational journey and cultivate a strong professional identity. Methods: This study aimed to determine the relationship between nursing students' academic self-efficacy and perceived stressors for professional practice in surgical clinics. The study design is descriptive and correlational. A total of 284 undergraduate nursing students practicing in surgical clinics at a university in Izmir province were recruited during the 2022-2023 academic year. A Personal Information Form, the Academic Nurse Self-Efficacy Scale (ANSES), and the Nursing Students' Perceptions of Clinical Stressors Scale (NSPCSS-TR) were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean age of the students included in the study was 21.02±1.52 years. The mean total score of the ANSES was 51.50±6.88 and the mean total score of the NSPCSS-TR was 82.98±15.58. There was no statistically significant relationship between the ANSES and NSPCSS-TR scores (r:-0.022, p:0.711). It was found that there was a statistically significant positive weak relationship between the ANSES sociability sub-dimension score and the NSPCSS-TR academic performance of the instructor sub-dimension score (r:0.190, p:0.001). It was found that there was a statistically significant negative weak relationship (r:-0.163, p:0.006) between ANSES external emotion management subscale score and NSPCSS-TR inappropriate situations in the clinical environment subscale score. Conclusions: This study found that nursing students' perceptions of academic self-efficacy and clinical stressors were high. It is recommended that programs aimed at improving the academic self-efficacy of nursing students should be implemented, that clinical practice should be emphasized as an important part of nursing education and that comprehensive studies should be conducted to reduce perceived stress in surgical clinics.