Purpose: This study investigated the levels and relationships among clinical competence, psychological capital, and nursing professional pride in clinical nurses, and to determine the factors influencing nursing professional pride. The findings of thi...
Purpose: This study investigated the levels and relationships among clinical competence, psychological capital, and nursing professional pride in clinical nurses, and to determine the factors influencing nursing professional pride. The findings of this study provide the empirical basis for developing strategies to enhance nursing professional pride among clinical nurses. Methods : This descriptive correlational study was conducted from June 20 to July 20, 2025. Participants were 140 clinical nurses working at one general hospital and one tertiary in B Metropolitan City who voluntarily participated and provided informed consent. Data were obtained using structured, self-report instruments. Clinical competence was measured using the Nurse Clinical Competence Scale developed by [18]. Positive psychological capital was assessed using the scale developed by [20].. Professional pride was measured using the Professional Pride Scale for Nurses developed by Jeon. All instruments demonstrated high reliability in this study (Cronbach’ s α ≥ .90). General characteristics included sex, age, clinical career, education level, work unit, and other demographic factors. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 with frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA with Scheffé post hoc test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression (enter method). Results: The research findings are outlined as follows 1. A total of 140 clinical nurses participated in the study, including 14 males (10.0%) and 126 females (90.0%), with a mean age of 28.92±4.46 years. Most participants were unmarried (81.4%) and did not hold advanced practice nurse qualifications (90.0%). The majority had a bachelor's degree (78.6%) and an average clinical career of 6.12±4.88 years. Most participants worked in general wards (66.4%), held staff nurse positions (85.0%), earned an annual salary of ≥50 million KRW (64.3%), reported no religion (75.7%), and had no intention to resign within the year (70.0%). 2. The participants' mean total score for clinical competence was 129.76±10.91 out of 150 points, with a mean item score of 4.33±0.72 out of 5 points. The mean total score for psychological capital was 99.72±12.13 out of 144 points, corresponding to a mean item score of 4.16±1.04 out of 6 points, the mean total score for nursing professional pride was 101.69±12.13 out of 135 points, with a mean item score of 3.77±0.91 out of 5 points. 3. Nursing professional pride significantly differed by age (F=9.06, p<.001), position (F=4.55, p=.012), annual salary (F=2.22, p=.028), and intention to resign within one year (t=2.40, p=.017). 4. Nursing professional pride showed significant positive correlations with clinical competence (r=.32, p<.001) and positive psychological capital (r=.53, p<.001). Clinical competence had a significant positive correlation with psychological capital (r=.42, p<.001). 5. Factors significantly influencing nursing professional pride were positive psychological capital (β=.38, p<.001), annual salary ≥50 million KRW (β=–.18, p=.013), and intention to resign within one year (β=–.18, p=.008). These variables explained 36.2% of the variance in nursing professional pride (F=13.58, p<.001). Conclusion : This study confirmed the levels of clinical competence, psychological capital, and nursing professional pride among clinical nurses, and confirmed that psychological capital significantly influences professional pride. Furthermore, professional pride was found to be higher in the group with an annual salary of less than 50 million KRW compared to the group with 50 million KRW or more, and higher in nurses with no intention to leave within one year compared to those with an intention to resign. The enhancement of psychological capital is deemed the core strategy for clinical nurses to maximize professional pride, overcome challenging work situations, and form positive work attitudes, as it is a manageable and developable internal resource that serves as a foundation for overcoming difficulties in the clinical setting. Consequently, there is a need to develop intervention and support programs that strengthen nurses' individual internal resources to reduce negative cognitions and enhance job satisfaction. Moreover, the contradictory findings regarding pride based on salary and position suggest that the foundation of professional pride lies in intrinsic satisfaction rather than extrinsic rewards. Therefore, follow-up research is considered necessary for non-financial support strategies—such as job redesign, role division system establishment, and clinical expertise maintenance support—to prevent high-ranking, experienced nurses from experiencing role conflict by being distanced from their original professional duties due to administrative and managerial tasks.