The Capacity to Acquire Nursing Competency among New Entrance Students

Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the Nurse Competency Predicting Scale (NCPS) scores and those of the Principles and the course of Techniques of Nursing Procedures (PTNPs), particularly its theoretical and practical units, among nursing students. Instrument Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the new entrance nursing students at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences. In total, 175 nursing students were recruited by the census method. Then, the NCPS was completed online, and the data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and t-test by SPSS 21.   Findings: The mean NCPS score of the students was 73.14±10.23. A statistically significant relationship was observed between the nursing students’ paramedic clinical experience, reason for choosing nursing as their field of study, interest in studying nursing, desire to work in the nursing profession, and intention of doing a PhD degree and their NCPS scores (p 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant relationship between the NCPS scores and scores of the course of PTNPs, and the first internship scores (p 0.05). Conclusion: The capacity to acquire NC among the new entrance nursing students is at a high level. Here, the students with the intention of doing a PhD, and a history of paramedic clinical experience, interested in studying nursing and working in the nursing profession reported a higher NC. Considering these key factors during university admissions can be suggested to strengthen NC in the nursing profession.