Systematic review: Self-efficacy and skill performance.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and skill performance in undergraduate student nurses.

Background: Across higher education, self-efficacy is an important predictor of student success in skill-based learning. Nursing students are required to demonstrate skills prior to caring for hospitalized patients. Understanding the relationship between self-efficacy and nursing student skill performance may support patient safety.

Methods: Following the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), a systematic search was conducted of four databases: CINAHL, Medline, Psychinfo, and Web of Science. Quantitative, peer-reviewed studies published in English were included with no limitation on year. Hands-on skill performance had to be performed in laboratory or simulation settings and evaluated by an expert. Identified studies were assessed for methodological rigor using Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Tools.

Findings: A total of 2,450 items were identified by database search and screened, resulting in 20 eligible studies. Most of the studies included novice first- or second-year students. Self-efficacy was operationalized as either a general or skill-specific measure, while the type of skill and associated instrumentation varied widely. Sixteen (80%) of the included study reports showed weak to no correlation between self-efficacy and skill performance. The remaining 4 reports noted a moderate-to-strong relationship.

Conclusion: Our findings conflict with existing research in other higher education disciplines where self-efficacy is a significant predictor of performance success. Explanations for this contradiction likely center around how self-efficacy was operationalized and rigor of the included studies.

Implications For Nursing: Larger studies controlling for confounding variables are needed to understand this relationship with a goal of developing more consistent approaches to teaching and learning skills within prelicensure curriculums.