Dignity in nursing care: What does it mean to nursing students?
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Updated: Feb 22, 2026

Using Learning Outcome Measures to assess Doctoral Nursing Education
Published on: June 21, 2010
Rosemary F Mullen1, Angela Kydd2, Anne Fleming3
1University of the West of Scotland, Scotland.
Background::
Despite growing interest in the potential of nursing education to enhance dignity in nursing care, relatively little is known about what dignity means to nursing students.
Research Question::
What meaning does dignity in nursing care have for nursing students?
Research Design::
Photo-elicitation was embedded within a Nominal Group Technique and responses were analysed by qualitative and quantitative content analysis.
Participants And Research Context::
Participants were recruited from each year of a 3-year undergraduate preregistration adult nursing programme in Scotland. In total, 31 nursing students participated in the study.
Ethical Considerations::
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, University of the West of Scotland.
Findings::
Participants articulated the meaning of dignity in nursing care in terms of the relationships and feelings involved. A total of 10 categories of meaning were identified.
Discussion::
The significance of the nature of the nurse-patient interaction to preserving dignity in nursing care is highlighted.
Conclusion::
Understanding the meaning of dignity for nursing students may help prepare future nurses more able to preserve dignity in nursing care.
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