Association Between Nurses’ Work Practice Environment and Their Learning Agility: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: In Saudi Arabia, nurses operate in a complex healthcare environment, characterized by a highly diverse expatriate workforce, rapid digital transformation (including the widespread adoption of electronic health records), and ongoing staffing shortages. Despite increasing demands for adaptability, Learning Agility among nurses appears suboptimal, and limited research has examined how the work practice environment supports this capability in Saudi hospitals. This study examined nurses’ work practice environment, Learning Agility, and the factors associated with them. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. A convenience sample of 375 nurses was recruited from three Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals in Riyadh and Jeddah between December 2022 and March 2023. Data were collected using the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index and the Marmara Learning Agility Scale. Ethical approval was obtained from the Shaqra University Ethics Research Committee and participating institutions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results: The mean Practice Environment Scale score was 2.89 (SD = 0.73, maximum = 4), with “Nursing foundation for quality of care” rated the highest (mean = 3.13, SD = 0.79) and “Staff and resource adequacy” the lowest (mean = 2.73, SD = 0.91), indicating resource and staffing challenges. The mean Learning Agility score was 3.67 (SD = 0.73, maximum = 5), with the highest dimension being “Result agility” (mean = 3.89, SD = 0.75). Strong predictors of Learning Agility included nurse participation in hospital affairs, nursing foundation for quality of care, and collegial nurse–physician relationships, while a negative association between “Staff and resource adequacy” and Change Agility and between “Nurse manager ability, leadership, and support of nurses” and Result Agility/Self-awareness were noted. Conclusion: A significant association was identified between nurses’ work practice environment and Learning Agility. Addressing staffing and resource adequacy, strengthening leadership support, promoting interprofessional collaboration, and enhancing participation in decision-making may foster adaptive capacity. These findings have implications for care quality and organizational resilience in rapidly evolving healthcare systems.