Relationships Between Nursing Students’ Incivility Experiences and Perceived Self-Efficacy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Nursing students often face incivility during clinical placements while applying their classroom learning in real-world settings under the supervision of registered nurses. These experiences can be particularly challenging for students who are young and lack professional experience, leaving them vulnerable to stress and feelings of isolation, potentially affecting students’ self-efficacy in managing tasks and challenges. This study explored the relationship between nursing students’ experiences of workplace incivility and perceptions of their self-efficacy when dealing with workplace incivility. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August 2020 and January 2021 with 244 domestic and international nursing students who had completed at least one clinical placement, to measure the prevalence of incivility and students’ perceived self-efficacy in managing such experiences. Descriptive and bivariate analysis using Spearman’s rank correlation and the Mann-Whitney U test were conducted. Findings indicated that nursing students experienced high levels of incivility, which had a significant, moderate inverse relationship with self-efficacy, and a positive relationship with clinical placements. Domestic students reported significantly higher levels of incivility, while international students demonstrated significantly higher self-efficacy. Students with prior healthcare employment experienced significantly higher levels of incivility than those without such experience. A notable correlation also suggested that higher self-efficacy was associated with lower perceptions of incivility, indicating that students who feel confident in their ability to handle challenges are less likely to be affected by incivility. These findings highlight the importance of fostering self-efficacy in nursing students as a protective factor against incivility.