The ability to solve problems and make decisions creatively has become paramount to new nursing graduates, as these skills assist them with recognizing and evaluating situations that require prompt attention. This study was done to determine nursing student’s problem solving skills in various years of their four-year program.

This is a cross-sectional study. Three hundred and twenty two undergraduate nursing students in BSc nursing program participated in this study. The study setting was Nursing School of Iran University of Medical Sciences. The Problem Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner & Petersen, 1982) was used to data gathering. The scale was divided into three subscales including: problem-solving confidence, approaching avoidance style, and personal control. Low scores were representative of a positive judgment and high scores indicated a poorer judgment of problem-solving abilities. Students involved in the study signed the study Informed consent.

Findings showed that the mean score of problem solving skill was 89.5 ± 21.51. First year students were found to have a mean score of 89.13 ± 18.71, second year students had a mean of 91.57 ± 1.87. The mean score of third year was 91.52 ± 20.8 and for fourth year students was 84.18 ± 27.47. When these results are compared, no significant differences occurred among the student in different years, as well as no difference between nursing students in 3 subscales of problem solving was seen.

It is expected that Nursing school produce practitioners who have the ability to solve problems and make decisions.