Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> <bold>Objective</bold> This study investigates the status and correlation of self-efficacy and employment anxiety in nursing students, to provide evidence for improving their professional quality of life. <bold>Methods</bold> This non-experimental cross-sectional study was conducted via the WeChat platform in January 2026, recruiting 242 nursing students of 2022-2025 cohorts from Y University in Jilin Province. Research instruments included the General Information Questionnaire, Nursing Students' Occupational Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and Employment Anxiety Questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS 26.0, using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, percentage), independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and Spearman correlation analysis. <bold>Results</bold> In this study, nursing students' occupational self-efficacy was negatively correlated with employment anxiety. The average occupational self-efficacy score was at the upper-middle level, while the average employment anxiety score was at the lower-middle level. Significant differences in occupational self-efficacy scores were found across degree of major preference, nursing career prospect recognition, and association/extracurricular practice experience (P < 0.05). Gender and degree of major preference were associated with significant differences in employment anxiety scores (P < 0.05). <bold>Conclusion</bold> Nursing students showed an upper-middle level of occupational self-efficacy and a lower-middle level of employment anxiety, with a significant negative correlation between the two: higher occupational self-efficacy was associated with lower employment anxiety. Multi-stakeholder efforts, including strengthened professional identity education from nursing colleges, improved career path transparency from the society, and emotional support from families, are needed to enhance nursing students' occupational self-efficacy and relieve their employment anxiety. </p>