Clinical Decision-Making and Self-Efficacy Skills in Anesthesiology Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Clinical decision-making and self-efficacy are essential parts of nurses' professional work, which includes information analysis, and proper implementation of decisions in the clinical field. Objectives: The present study investigated the perspectives of anesthesia nursing students on clinical decision-making and clinical self-efficacy skills. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 70 undergraduate anesthesia nursing students at Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz, Iran, in 2021, who were recruited through the census method. The required data were collected using a questionnaire containing demographics, clinical decision-making, and self-efficacy in clinical performance. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS 16 using the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal Wallis test at a statistical significance of 0.05. Results: Mean age of students was 21.70 ± 1.06 years. The median score of all students' perceptions of clinical decision-making was 66.5 ± 6. Moreover, 60% of the students had a weak perception of clinical decision-making (systematic analytical). The median clinical self-efficacy score of all students was 87.50 ± 22. Also, 51.4% of the students had a moderate level of clinical self-efficacy. Conclusions: There is insufficient perception of clinical decision-making and clinical self-efficacy among anesthesia nursing students at Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz. Therefore, it is recommended to pay more attention to the curricula and educational programs in order to promote students' perceptions.