THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORAL INTELLIGENCE AND CLINICAL COMPETENCE OF NURSING STUDENTS IN THE INTERNSHIP COURSE

Clinical competence is one of the main indicators of performance in nursing.
Researchers believe that to maintain nursing care standards, it is necessary to recognize the factors
associated with the promotion of clinical competence. The aim of this study was to determine the
relationship between moral intelligence and clinical competence of nursing students in the internship
course.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive correlational study was performed on 125 nursing students in
an internship course in selected branches of Islamic Azad Universities of Isfahan province. Participants
were selected by purposive sampling. Data collection was done by standard questionnaires of moral
intelligence and clinical competency of nursing students. The data were analyzed using descriptive
statistics, Pearson’s correlation test, and multivariate regression in SPSS software version 16.
Results: Most of the participants (91.2%, 114 subjects) were women and were in the age group of 22-
25 years (62.4%, 78 subjects). The mean total score of moral intelligence in the participants was
83.46±12.25 and the mean total score of their clinical competence was 193.72±26.36. Pearson
correlation test showed a direct and significant relationship between moral intelligence and students'
clinical competence (r =0/642, p<0/001). Also, based on the results of multivariate linear regression
analysis, students' moral intelligence and grade point average can predict their clinical competency
score.
Conclusion: According to the research findings on the relationship between moral intelligence and
clinical competence of nursing students, it seems necessary to pay attention to this dimension of
intelligence in order to improve students' clinical competence and thus improve the quality of patient
care