Factors Influencing End-of-life Care Competency in Nursing Students

This descriptive study was designed to identify factors influencing end-of-life nursing competency among nursing students. Data were collected from 184 undergraduate students with over one year of clinical experience, all of whom were attending one of two nursing colleges located in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. A self-reported structured questionnaire assessed end-of-life care competency, knowledge of hospice and palliative care, empathy competency, ethical nursing competency, and attitudes toward end-of-life care. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis with SPSS/WIN 25.0. Key predictors of end-of-life nursing competency included participation in end-of-life education, empathy competency, ethical nursing competency, and subjective health status (rated as good). The model explained 34.1% of the variance in nursing competency. These findings suggest that improving nursing students’ end-of-life competencies requires educational strategies, tailored to each university’s situation, to enhance the empathy, ethical nursing skills, and subjective health of nursing students.