Relationship between moral courage and clinical competencies among psychiatric nurses

Abstract

Introduction: The nature of psychiatric departments creates many different challenges for nurses, especially in the field of ethical aspects of patient care. Nurses need moral courage to provide basic care to avoid possible unethical acts. Objective: This study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between moral courage and clinical competence among psychiatric nurses in 2024. Material and methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with 211 psychiatric nurses. The samples were selected via the census method. The data were collected via three questionnaires: (1) demographic information, (2) the Sekerka moral courage questionnaire and (3) the clinical competence questionnaire of Mohtashmi psychiatric nurses. The data were analyzed via SPSS 25. Results: The findings revealed a positive and significant correlation between “moral courage” and “clinical competence” (p < 0.001, r = 0.55). Among the demographic variables, the t-test revealed that the only variable related to participation in specialized psychiatric nursing courses was moral courage (p = 0.027) and clinical competence (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that participation in a specialized psychiatric nursing course is significantly related to moral courage and clinical competence. Therefore, it is recommended that nursing managers and policymakers increase their moral courage by increasing the clinical competence of psychiatric nurses, in addition to improving the quality of nursing care.