Relationships Among Nursing Professionalism, Nurse Image, and Core Elements of Nursing Professionalism that Nursing Students Perceive

Cho, Hun Ha; Kim, Nam Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study investigates the level of nursing professionalism and factors that affect nurse perceptions. METHOD: This study is a descriptive study involving 443 nursing students from two universities. Data were collected in September 2012 via a structured self-report questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression.
RESULTS
The mean scores for nurse image, core elements of nursing professionalism and nursing professionalism were 3.65+/-.46, 4.17+/-.39 and 3.59+/-.45, respectively. Nursing Professionalism had a significant positive correlation with nurse image (r=.749, p<.001) and core elements of nursing professionalism (r=.365, p<.001). In multiple linear regression, factors that influenced nursing professionalism were: temperament as nurses, professionalism, vision of career, role performance of nurses' image, and fundamental nursing practical experience. These variables explained about 58.8% of the total variance in nursing professionalism.
CONCLUSION
For more positive nursing professionalism among students, more attention should be paid to enhancing the positive image of nurses. Doing so can serve as a fundamental resource for the development of appropriate strategies for nursing professionalism.