Mediating Effects of Nursing Professionalism on the Relationship between Nursing Students’ Critical Thinking Disposition and Patient Safety Competency

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate the mediating effect of nursing professionalism in the relationship between nursing students’ critical thinking disposition and patient safety competency. Methods : The subjects of the study were 140 third- and fourth-grade nursing students who had experience in clinical practice among two universities located in S city and J city. The study was conducted from January 3, 2022 through February 15, 2022 using a self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression following the Baron and Kenny method and Sobel test for mediation. Results : A positive correlation was found between nursing students’ patient safety competency and critical thinking disposition (r＝.58, p＜.001) and nursing professionalism (r＝.43, p＜.001); moreover, nursing professionalism was correlated with critical thinking (r＝.46, p＜.001). Nursing professionalism appeared to have a partial mediating effect in the relationship between critical thinking disposition and patient safety competency, and the explanatory power of critical thinking disposition and patient safety competency increased by 35.4% (F＝39.06, p＜.001). Conclusion : Nursing professionalism was found to be important for fostering nursing students’ patient safety competency, and it is considered necessary to develop curricula or programs and operate extracurricular programs that can improve nursing professionalism.