Relationship between learning styles and clinical competency in nursing students

TL;DR

This study found that nursing students' learning styles are linked to their clinical competency, suggesting tailored education could improve skills.

Contribution

The study identifies specific learning styles correlated with higher clinical competency in nursing students, offering insights for educational design.

Findings

Accommodative and converging learning styles were associated with higher clinical competency scores.

Divergent learning style was the most common among nursing students.

A significant relationship exists between learning styles and clinical competency (P < 0.05).

Abstract

The acquisition of clinical competence is considered the ultimate goal of nursing education programs. This study explored the relationship between learning styles and clinical competency in undergraduate nursing students.

A descriptive-correlational study was conducted in 2023 with 276 nursing students from the second to sixth semesters at Abhar School of Nursing, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, Kolb’s learning styles, and Meretoja’s clinical competence assessments completed online by participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16, employing descriptive statistics and inferential tests (independent T-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation) at a significance level 0.05.

The predominant learning styles among nursing students were divergent (31.2%), and the least common was convergent (18.4%). The overall clinical competency score was 77.25 ± 12.65. Also, there was a significant relationship between learning styles and clinical competency, so the clinical competency of students with accommodative and converging learning styles was higher. (P < 0.05).

The results of this study showed the association between learning styles and clinical competence in nursing students. It is recommended that educational programs identify talented students and provide workshops tailored to strengthen various learning styles associated with enhanced clinical competence.