Background: Cardiac misconceptions are common among healthcare professionals. The development of\nprofessional knowledge is considered an essential component of nursing education. Nurses, regardless of their\ngrade, skills, and experience, should be updated with information so as to be able to rectify their misconceptions,\nas these could affect patient health outcomes. As the literature evaluating the cardiac knowledge and\nmisconceptions of nursing students is sparse, a study of the subject seems warranted.\nMethods: A cross-sectional sample survey was used to study the cardiac knowledge and cardiac misconceptions of\nnursing students in Hong Kong. The study sample included 385 senior nursing students from three universities.\nTheir level of knowledge of cardiac disease was assessed using the modified Coronary Heart Disease Knowledge\nTest. The York Cardiac Beliefs Questionnaire (YCBQv1) was used to examine cardiac misconceptions.\nResults: The scores for the nursing studentsââ?¬â?¢ level of knowledge were diverse. Their mean score in the Cardiac\nKnowledge Test was 12.27 out of 18 (SD 2.38), with a range of 2ââ?¬â??17. For cardiac misconceptions, their mean score\nin the YCBQv1 was 6.98 out of 20 (SD 2.84), with a range of 0ââ?¬â??14. A negative correlation, r = âË?â??0.33 was found\namong students with more knowledge and fewer misconceptions. (p < 0.001). The Chi-square tests found some\nassociations between the studentsââ?¬â?¢ experiences of caring for cardiac patients and misconceptions about stress and\nphysiology.\nConclusions: The results of our analyses indicate a diversity in levels of knowledge among the nursing students.\nStudents with higher scores in cardiac knowledge did not necessarily have fewer misconceptions. There were\nassociations between the studentsââ?¬â?¢ misbeliefs and their caregiving experiences with cardiac patients. This study\npresents a framework for designing the contents of cardiac nursing programmes and is a starting point for\npromoting research on misconceptions held by undergraduate nursing students. A new paradigm of teaching\nshould include inputs from both perspectives to help students to make critical use of theoretical knowledge to\nrectify their misconceptions and pursue excellence in the working world.
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