Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to perform a task effectively despite difficulties and predicts future willingness to undertake similar tasks. The study’s aim was to determine the extent to which undergraduate nursing students develop their clinical performance self-efficacy beliefs throughout their degree. Using a cross-sectional survey design, Year 1, 2 and 3 students from a three-year undergraduate nursing program completed a clinical performance self-efficacy scale, comprising the domains of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. Welch’s one-way ANOVA and Games–Howell post hoc analyses compared self-efficacy scores across year levels. Self-efficacy predictors were identified with multiple linear regression. Descriptive statistics determined students’ confidence with clinical activities. Participants’ self-efficacy scores increased significantly from Year 1 to 2 and Year 2 to 3. Year level of study was the only unique positive predictor of scores. Over the years, participants were most confident implementing care and least confident planning and evaluating care. Given that clinical placement frequency was not a unique significant predictor of self-efficacy, but rather weakly correlated, future studies should examine if other learning activities such as high-fidelity simulation may play a greater role in its development. The lower confidence with planning and evaluation underscores the need for curricula that scaffold higher-order skills like critical thinking and reflection.
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