Relationships between incivility and stress and self-efficacy among nursing students in clinical settings

Background: In nursing education, clinical practice is a crucial process for students to learn and practice knowledge and skills for becoming healthcare professionals. Objective: To investigate the effects of the experience of incivility on nursing students’ stress and self-efficacy in clinical settings. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered surveys by a convenience sample of 195 nursing students in South Korea. The surveys included sociodemographic questions, the 13-item Korean version of Uncivil Behavior in Clinical Nursing Education (K-UBCNE), the 24-item Korean versions of Beck-Srivastava Stress Inventory (K-BSSI), and the 24-item of Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE). Results: The average age of our sample was 22.33 years (± 2.39). Among 195 study participants, junior students were 123 (63.1%) and senior students were 72 (36.9%). Mean score of total incivility by the K-UBCNE among the seniors was significantly higher than the juniors ( t = -2.985, p = .002). Pearson correlations results indicated that the nursing students’ incivility experience was positively correlated with the K-BSSI ( r = .679, p < .01), and the ASE ( r = .680, p < .01). Lastly, Clinical Education Environment ( t = 1.985, p = .049), Undesired Role Model ( t = 6.650, p = .000) and Interpersonal Conflict ( t = 2.486, p = .014) from K-BSSI were the predictors for incivility, F(7, 195) = 28.110, p = 000. Conclusions: Incivility adversely influences students’ learning. Nurse educators and RNs should recognize the serious implications of incivility and develop effective interventions to combat incivility. Further studies of stress, self-efficacy, and incivility in the clinical sites are warranted.