Do Uncivil Nursing Students Become Uncivil Nurses? A National Survey of Faculty

Faculty frequently express anecdotal concerns that poorly behaving nursing students will go on to behave poorly as licensed nurses. Unfortunately, no empirical evidence exists to support or refute these concerns.

The purpose of this study was to determine what knowledge faculty have of poorly behaving nursing students who also behaved poorly in subsequent practice.

A cross-sectional, descriptive design using online survey methods was used to gather data from a national sample of nurse educators.

Approximately 37 percent of respondents reported having personal knowledge of a former poorly behaving student who went on to display poor behavior as a licensed provider; 71 percent reported that at least one student had graduated in the previous year whom they thought should not have graduated based on unprofessional behaviors.

Study findings provide troubling evidence that at least some poorly behaving students continue to demonstrate unprofessional behavior as licensed nurses.