Factors Associated with Caring Abilities of Medical-Surgical Nurses in Selected Hospitals in Shandong, China

Background: The caring ability of nurses refers to their ability to care for, help, and take care of patients. Currently, due to the shortage of nursing human resources, nurses face high work pressure, and are generally lacking in emotional intelligence and self-regulation fatigue, which affects the nursing services they provide. Objective: The aim of this study is to identify the relevant factors associated with the nursing ability of nurses in the internal medicine and surgery wards of some hospitals in Shandong Province, clarify the relationship between nurses' emotional intelligence, self-regulation fatigue, stress, and caregiving ability, and provide reference for improving the quality of clinical nursing services. The sample size of this study is still relatively small, and the participants come from some hospitals in Shandong, which is a limitation and area for improvement in this study. Methods: A descriptive correlational study will involve 377 registered nurses who will be recruited via purposive non probability sampling. It will start in December 2024 and end within October 2025.The variables (emotional intelligence, self-regulatory fatigue, stress, and caring abilities) will be measured through research instruments, namely the Jefferson Nursing Student Physician-Patient Empathy Scale, Selective Caring Competency Scale, Walker and Avant's Conceptual Analysis Strategy, and Law's Emotional Discussion Scale. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (Pearson r, Spearman rho) will be used for data analysis.