Nursing students' professional values for reinforcing the professional identity

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professionalism
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Professional values are crucial for nursing practice and patient care.
• Understanding these values among students informs curriculum development and professional socialization.
• Variations in professional values may exist based on educational institutions and demographic factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess professional values among nursing students across different Brazilian universities.
• To identify which dimensions of professional values are most and least emphasized.
• To explore correlations between professional values and sociodemographic variables like gender and university.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive study was employed.
• An electronic questionnaire utilizing the Nursing Professional Values Scale (NPVS-3) was administered.
• Data were collected from nursing students across three universities in Brazil's Southeast and North regions.

Main Results:

• Out of 337 participants, 282 were female.
• The "Caring" dimension received the highest mean score (46.61), while "Professionalism" had the lowest (34.65).
• Significant associations were found between the "Caring" dimension and university, as well as gender.

Conclusions:

• The "Caring" dimension appears to be the most significant in shaping professional values during nursing training.
• The influence of these caring values is more pronounced in the female student sample.
• Findings highlight the importance of the "Caring" dimension in nursing education and its differential impact based on gender.