Impact of grit, empathy, and communication competence on the clinical competence of nursing students in the post-COVID-19 era in Korea: a cross-sectional study

Purpose: This study investigated the relationships among grit, empathy, communication competence, and clinical competence in nursing students and aimed to determine the factors influencing their clinical competence during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: The participants were 157 third- and fourth-year nursing students from Andong National University in Andong and Choonhae College of Health Sciences in Ulsan, both in South Korea. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire and analyzed using the SPSS version 23.0 program. Results: Clinical competence was positively correlated with grit (r = .26, p = .001), empathy (r = .29, p < .001) and communication competence (r = .53, p < .001). Women, sex (β = −.20, p = .009) was found to predict nursing students' clinical competence, explaining a portion of the variance in clinical competence (F = 7.07, p < .001). Conclusion: The results imply that nursing students’ communication competence must be increased to improve their clinical competence. Additionally, it is important to develop training programs that consider changes in the educational environment in the post-COVID-19 era