The Caring Competencies of Nursing Students: Comparing Post-RN BS Nursing Students and Generic BS-Nursing Program Students

Abstract

Background: Nursing is both an art and a science: the nursing art means skills and practice in the form of caring towards patients, understanding patients’ pain, and communicating with them when necessary, and providing love and compassion to ill subjects. Methods and Material: The study was conducted in private and public sector institutes of Sindh from 2nd November 2024 to 15th January 2026. A cross-sectional analytical study design was used to compare caring behaviors between Generic BS Nursing (four-year degree program) and two-year POST RN BS Nursing students. The sample size was calculated with Open-EPI software using a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error, resulting in a final sample size of n=385. The study included 385 participants. Of these, 212 (55%) were males, and 173 (45%) were female students. Among the participants, 147 (38%) were enrolled in the Post RN nursing program. Of these, 88 (59.8%) were male, and 59 (40.15%) were female. Furthermore, 238 (62%) were enrolled as generic students, of whom 148 (62.18%) were male, and 90 (37.81%) were female (Table 01). Conclusion: "The study's findings indicate that Post-RN BS Nursing Students exhibited higher caring competencies compared to their Generic BS-Nursing Program counterparts, suggesting that prior nursing experience and exposure to real-world clinical settings may play a significant role in enhancing empathetic and caring abilities in nursing practice.