Attributes associated with person‐centered care competence among undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

Person‐centered care is widely recognized as a promising practice to improve patient care quality. However, little is known about the competencies of nursing students who are essential to providing high‐quality person‐centered care. In this study, relevant attributes, including professional nursing competence, empathy, and self‐awareness, were examined in relation to person‐centered care competence among South Korean nursing students while controlling for individual characteristics, including age, gender, religion, and academic performance. Data were collected from 213 senior students enrolled in four nursing schools in South Korea from November 15 to 30, 2017. The mean age of the nursing students in the sample was 23 years. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analyses while accounting for the students nested in their schools. Professional nursing competence and empathy were strongly associated with person‐centered care competence among nursing students. Of the five aspects of professional nursing competence, human understanding and communication skills were the most likely to be associated with person‐centered care competence. Moreover, there were few variations across nursing schools in the levels of professional nursing competence. Our findings corroborate the importance of developing better communication skills and empathy to improve and maintain person‐centered care competence among nursing students who belong to a new generation.

Structural Equation Model for Developing Person-Centered Care Competency among Senior Nursing Students

“…PCC aims to help patients live meaningful lives through holistic methods considering entire livelihoods, including individual preferences and needs [ 5 ]. According to Park and Choi [ 6 ], the word “patient” tends to reduce an individual to someone who simply receives medical services; thus, when providing PCC, it is important to recognize the individual as a whole person who is actively involved in their care, as well as consider each patient’s physical, social, mental, and spiritual aspects [ 7 ].…”

“…Based on the above, given that PCC is a highly important way to provide holistic care, appropriate nursing competency (person-centered care competency: PCCC) to implement humanistic care is the most significant factor for ensuring proper PCC [ 6 ]. Leininger [ 14 ] previously identified nurses as unique care providers in the “caring experience,” as they promote healing while improving the health outcomes of those who are well, unwell, disabled, and dying [ 1 ].…”

“…Leininger [ 14 ] previously identified nurses as unique care providers in the “caring experience,” as they promote healing while improving the health outcomes of those who are well, unwell, disabled, and dying [ 1 ]. This makes nurses key contributors in the PCC context, as they are often responsible for providing 24 h direct care tailored to individual patient needs and values; this is ensured through developing high-quality therapeutic relationships while establishing trust [ 6 ].…”

“…In line with these changes worldwide, senior nursing students—who are the future nurses—should strive to adapt to the changing health care paradigm as expected of nurses [ 15 ]. Considering that PCCC can be strengthened through continuous learning and curricula [ 3 ], there have been recent efforts to discuss the establishment of an integrated curriculum and introduce it gradually in undergraduate curricula to ensure PCC practice in the future [ 4 , 6 , 16 ].…”

“…As many senior nursing students become key nurses in PCCC, educators must grasp the qualities required to implement PCC in a way that encompasses all human care beyond the hospital environment; PCCC programs should, thus, be implemented based on relevant nursing career-related factors in the undergraduate curricula offered at nursing colleges [ 6 , 12 , 17 ]. Given that nursing education can provide students with relevant knowledge, professional values, and appropriate attitudes, curricula should be updated to increase holistic and humanistic care concepts and a systematic strategy based on a multi-faceted analysis should be established [ 16 ].…”