Relationship between moral intelligence, moral reasoning, and clinical competency among nurses working in teaching hospitals in Ilam

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses with intelligence and moral reasoning can perform well and be effective in their relationships with colleagues, patients, and companions. The clinical competence of nurses is the primary concern of healthcare systems. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between moral intelligence, moral reasoning, and clinical competence of nurses. Material & Methods: This descriptive-analytical correlational study was conducted on 110 nurses who were selected via convenience sampling in the teaching hospitals of Ilam in 2022. Data collection tools were demographic characteristics form, Link and Keel's moral ‎intelligence, the Nursing Clinical Competence Questionnaire by Liu et al., and the Nursing Dilemma Test by Chrisham. ‎Data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 16) using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The level of statistical significance was 0.05. Results: The majority of subjects were women (54.5%) with a bachelor's degree in nursing (87.3%), official employment (61.8%), with a work experience of 1-5 years (50%), and mean age of 30.98±5.83 years. The mean scores of moral intelligence, moral reasoning, and clinical competence were reported as 157.59±26.60, 36.51±16.17, and 136.65±46.08, respectively. There was a direct and significant correlation between moral intelligence and clinical competence (r=0.517; P=0.001), moral intelligence and moral reasoning (r=0.444; P=0.001), as well as moral reasoning and clinical competence (r=0.802; P=0.001). Discussion & Conclusion: Considering the direct and significant relationship between the variables, it is recommended that nurses' awareness of moral intelligence, moral reasoning, and clinical competency be raised through clinical training courses.

Keywords

• clinical competency
• moral intelligence
• moral reasoning
• nurse