ArticleBMC medical education2025
The relationship between self-directed learning ability and clinical competence among nursing students: a cross-sectional descriptive study.
Article in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- What Shapes Clinical Competence in Intensive Care Nurses? A Hierarchical Regression Analysis.Nursing in critical care · 2026Article
- Understanding communication challenges in nursing care of patients with limited health literacy: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2026Article
- Readiness for self-directed learning among first-year medical and nursing students at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- The effect of self-directed learning ability on core competence in undergraduate nursing students: the mediating role of professional self-concept.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-directed learning is considered a key factor in developing clinical skills, as it enables students to independently acquire the necessary knowledge and competencies. This study aims to determine the relationship between self-directed learning ability and clinical competence in nursing students.
methodsIn a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out across the three principal provinces in western Iran, a total of 450 third- and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students were recruited to participate through convenience sampling. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, the Williamson Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL), and the Modified Nursing Competence Scale (NCS) developed by Meretoja. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were employed for data analysis.
resultsThe average age of the students was 22.68 ± 2.59 years. The results indicate that the mean scores for self-directed learning and clinical competence were 240.04 ± 32.14 and 137.94 ± 21.88, respectively, both being above average. Pearson's correlation coefficient results indicated a weak yet significant direct correlation between these two variables.
conclusionSelf-directed learning is important for nursing students. It relates to improving clinical competence. Therefore, it is suggested to implement strategies like conducting educational workshops. Another approach is to change the educational methods used by instructors to enhance this skill.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.