Effect of clinical learning environment on professional identity in intern nursing students: A parallel multivariable mediation model

Abstract

Background:

The significance of the clinical learning environment for professional identity is increasingly acknowledged. However, few studies have explored the bidirectional effects of the clinical learning environment on professional identity.

Objective:

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the clinical learning environment and the professional identity of nursing interns, particularly the parallel mediating roles of perceived professional benefit and role stress.

Methods:

The study was conducted in three first-class general hospitals in China. A total of 377 nursing interns participated. A questionnaire was administered, which included socio-demographic information, the Clinical Learning Environment Scale, the Nurses’ Perceived Professional Benefit Scale, the Role Stress Scale, and the Professional Identity Questionnaire. T-tests, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of professional identity. And correlation analysis and mediation tests were performed to explore the factors influencing professional identity and potential mediating roles of perceived professional benefit and role stress.

Result:

Professional identity was positively related to the clinical learning environment (r = 0.533, p < 0.01), perceived professional benefit (r = 0.643, p < 0.01) and negatively related to role stress (r = −0.348, p < 0.01). Furthermore, perceived professional benefit and role stress played parallel mediators between the clinical learning environment and professional identity.

Conclusion:

This study emphasized the importance of focusing more on enhancing nursing students’ sense of professional benefit and reducing role stress in the clinical learning environment to promote their professional identity.