The Effect of Clinical Nurses' Critical Thinking Disposition and Communication Ability on Patient Safety Competency

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the influence of critical thinking disposition and communication ability on patient safety competence among clinical nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire. In total, 139 nurses were recruited from a tertiary care hospital and general hospital in Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected from March 5, 2019 to March 29, 2019 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson’ correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS version 25.0. Results: The item mean score for patient safety competence was 3.83±0.40 (range, 1~5). Clinical nurses who were female, older, had higher education, and had more clinical experiences showed higher patient safety competence. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that healthy skepticism and objectivity (as subscales of clinical thinking disposition) and communication ability explained 28% and 3% of variance in patient safety competence; the model predicted approximately 38% of the variance in patient safety competence (F=6.69, p<.001). Conclusion: Clinical nurses’ patient safety competence was associated with healthy skepticism and objectivity, among the subscales of clinical thinking disposition, and communication ability. These were also found to be the major factors that influenced patient safety competence. Thus, it is necessary to develop educational programs to improve clinical nurses’ critical thinking disposition and communication skills.