A quasi-experimental study of specialized training on the clinical decision-making skills and social problem-solving abilities of nursing students.

In Asian countries, clinical practice places little emphasis on developing the clinical decision-making skills and social problem-solving abilities of nursing students. This study explored whether a 3-months-in-1-unit training program improved nursing students' clinical decision-making skills and social problem-solving abilities compared to the 1-month-in-1-unit rotation program. A quasi-experimental study was conducted. A 3-months-in-1-unit training program was conducted in the intervention group ( = 77), rountine1-month-in-1-unit rotation was conducted in the control group ( = 73). Clinical decision-making skills and problem-solving abilities were measured using the Chinese version of the Clinical Decision-Making Nursing Scale and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised. Nursing students in the intervention group scored higher clinical decision-making skills ( = 7.677,  < 0.05), positive problem orientation (= 18.359,  < 0.05), negative problem orientation (= -3.711,  < 0.05), and rational problem-solving (= 2.312, < 0.05) than the control group. The 3-months-in-1-unit specialized training program had a significant positive impact on students' clinical decision-making skills and social problem-solving abilities.