Kontakt 2017, 19(2):e116-e121 | DOI: 10.1016/j.kontakt.2017.03.003

Professional values in Turkish undergraduate nursing students and its reflection on caring behaviourNursing - Original article

Yeşim Yaman Aktaş^a,*, Neziha Karabulut^b

^a Giresun University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Surgical Nursing, Giresun, Turkey

^b Atatürk University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Surgical Nursing, Erzurum, Turkey

Aim: Professional values and caring are important for nursing professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine professional values in undergraduate nursing students and its reflection on care behaviours.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used. The study sample consisted of first-year, second-year, third-year and fourth-year undergraduate students (n = 351) studying for the Bachelor of Nursing Science Degree at the University of Giresun, Turkey. The data was collected by the researchers using the demographic form for students, 'Nursing Professional Value Scale' and 'Caring Assessment Questionnaire-Care-Q'.

Results: A positive correlation was found to be statistically significant between nursing students' professional values and care behaviours (r = 0.423, p < 0.05). Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant difference statistically between classes in terms of nursing students' care behaviours (p < 0.05), while no statistically significant differences were found between classes in terms of nursing students' professional values (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: The current study showed that caring behaviours were affected by the professional values of nursing students. Furthermore, it was observed that nursing students who have stronger orientations towards professional values show a higher frequency of caring behaviour.

Keywords: Care; Care behaviour; Nursing student; Professional value

Received: February 4, 2017; Accepted: March 22, 2017; Published: June 26, 2017  Show citation