Does self-efficacy for medication administration predict clinical skill performance in first-year nursing students? An inception-cohort study

Abstract Background Medication administration is an essential skill which is integrated in all nursing curricula to prepare nursing students for safe clinical practice. Although self-efficacy is linked to performance, little is known about its relationship to medication administration. Aim To examine the relationship between nursing students' self-efficacy in medication administration and actual performance. Method A pre-and post-test design was used to assess the relationship between nursing students' self-efficacy and performance in medication administration. Undergraduate nursing students (n=715) enrolled in a first-year nursing skill unit between June to October 2017 at a multi-campus university in Australia, participated in the study. Data were collected at three time-points: i) baseline, including assessing pre-instruction medication administration self-efficacy; ii) 7-week follow-up; including assessing post-instruction medication administration self-efficacy; and open-ended items; iii) retrieval of grades one week later. Findings Although there was no significant association between medication administration self-efficacy and achieving a satisfactory grade in the medication administration assessment, skill performance was linked to perceptions of clinical skills practice sessions. Conclusions This study identified that factors other than self-efficacy such as the practice environment and tutor support need to be considered to ensure student success in medication administration.