Abstract
Clinical immersion, a specialized form of work immersion, is an integral component of senior high school education for students inclined toward healthcare professions. However, the extent to which immersion hours influence career decision‑making confidence among Grade 12 students remains unclear. Existing research has predominantly focused on clinical immersion at the tertiary level, leaving a gap in understanding its effects at the senior high school level, particularly within the local context. This study examines the relationship between clinical immersion hours and the confidence levels of Grade 12 students in Pasay City when choosing allied health professions. This study employs a correlational design and purposive sampling to recruit 66 eligible Grade 12 students from a single educational institution in Pasay City. Data are collected via an online and on‑site questionnaire distributed through Microsoft Forms, incorporating a pre‑assessment form and the adapted Career Decision‑Making Self‑Efficacy Scale–Short Form (CDMSES–SF) to measure students’ confidence. Clinical immersion hours are self‑reported, and ethical guidelines are followed throughout data collection. Data analysis included descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank correlation. The weighted mean of reported clinical immersion hours was 28.36 (SD=8.98), and the weighted mean confidence level was 3.51, interpreted as very confident. Spearman’s correlation revealed a weak positive relationship between immersion hours and confidence (ρ=0.191, p=0.125), indicating that increases in immersion hours corresponded to only minimal increases in confidence levels. The findings indicated that Grade 12 students reported high confidence in selecting allied health professions regardless of the variability in immersion hours. The weak, nonsignificant correlation suggested that factors beyond immersion duration may play a more substantial role in career‑choice confidence. Study limitations included the single‑site sample and reliance on self‑reported data, which may affect generalizability. As a result, future research with a more diverse sample and mixed‑methods approaches is recommended. Educational institutions are also encouraged to standardize and expand experiential immersion opportunities to better support students’ career decision‑making processes.
