The role of self-efficacy in mediating between professional identity and self-reported competence among nursing students in the internship period: A quantitative study.

AIM: This study explored the relationship between self-efficacy, professional identity and competence among nursing students and analyzed the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between professional identity and competence. BACKGROUND: Increasing attention has been paid to the cultivation of competence among nursing students; however, few studies to date have analyzed its related factors and examined their relationship. DESIGN: A quantitative study with a descriptive design was performed in this study, adopting an online survey with convenience and snowball sampling. A cross-sectional sample of 887 nursing students in the internship period of their education program in mainland China was recruited from November to December 2020. METHODS: The Nursing Students Competence Instrument, Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nurse Students and General Self-efficacy Scale were distributed online. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, structural equation modeling (SEM) and the bootstrap method were employed in data analysis. RESULTS: Competence was significantly and positively correlated with professional identity (r = 0.598; P < 0.01) and self-efficacy (r = 0.692; P < 0.01). SEM analysis revealed that professional identity (ß = 0.31; P < 0.01) or self-efficacy (ß = 0.31; P < 0.01) could have a positive impact on competence. Meanwhile, self-efficacy played a mediating role in the relationship between professional identity and competence, with an indirect effect of professional identity creation through self-efficacy accounting for 52% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS: Self-efficacy mediates the relationship between professional identity and competence to some extent. School educators and clinical tutors should pay greater attention to students' professional identity and self-efficacy to improve students' competence.