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Nursing values and moral identity in baccalaureate nursing students
Kelly McHan1, Elizabeth Johnston-Taylor1, Barbara Piscopo2
1Loma Linda University, 11262 Campus Street, Loma Linda, CA 92350, United States.
Background:
Professional nursing identity formation requires alignment with the values and moral norms of the nursing profession.
Purpose:
This study sought to explore professional nursing identity formation by comparing differences in nursing values and moral identity between students enrolled in generic Bachelor of Science in nursing (BS) programs and Accelerated Second-degree Bachelor of Science in nursing (ASBS) programs who were nearing graduation. Secondary aims were 1) to explore the relationship between nursing values and moral identity and, 2) to analyze the influence of moral identity and being in an ASBS program on nursing values in baccalaureate students."
Methods:
The descriptive, correlative study used a 42-item survey that included the Nursing Professional Values Scale-3 (NPVS-3), the Moral Identity Scale (MIS), and four demographic questions. An emailed invitation to take the online survey was distributed to senior students enrolled at four universities in California.
Results:
No significant differences in NPV-3 scores or MIS scores between BS students and ASBS students were found. Overall, students scored lowest in the NPV-3 activism subfactor. A positive, statistically significant relationship between nursing values and moral identity was revealed. Regression modeling detected that every 1-point increase on the MIS significantly corresponded to an increase of 1.26 points on the NPVS-3 after adjusting for age and gender. Enrollment in an ASBS program did not have a statistically significant influence on nursing values.
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that students in both BS and ASBS programs who are nearing graduation are fully engaging with being a nurse. Overall, students ascribe more importance to the NPVS-3 subfactor of caring, and less importance on the NPVS-3 subfactors of activism and professionalism. Nursing values as measured by the NPVS-3 and moral identity as measured by the MIS are distinct concepts that together provide a salient measure of Professional Nursing Identity Formation in baccalaureate students.
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