Relationship between clinical performance and professional self-concept in critical care nurses

Abstract Objective To determine the relationship between clinical performance and professional self-concept in critical care nurses. Methods This study was conducted on 308 critical care nurses. Data gathering instruments were nurses’ clinical performance questionnaire (NCPQ) and nursing professional self-concept measure (NPSCM). Independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for data analyses. Results The average age of the nurses was 33.74 ± 7.01 years. The clinical performance score of female nurses was significantly higher than male nurses. In the domain of clinical performance, clinical judgment and clinical inquiry had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. In the nurses’ professional self-concept, the highest and lowest scores were awarded to the subscales of self-confidence and staff relations, respectively. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between self-concept and clinical performance of nurses. Conclusions Increasing professional self-concept improves the clinical performance of critical care nurses. Professional self-concept enhancement measures are recommended to improve the clinical performance of nurses in critical care units.