The Comparison of Caring Attributes Among Undergraduate and Postgraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Caring attributes reflect the nurses' view of care and the importance of caring roles for nurses. Nursing education also provides an ideal situation to develop students' caring behaviors. However, nursing educators have little knowledge of the influences of educational programs and student development at different stages, mainly due to limited exposure to updated training or research in this area. The present study aimed to compare the caring attributes experienced by nursing students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

This a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 nursing students in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Kerman, Southeastern Iran, from 2019 to 2020. Participants were selected using stratified random sampling. The data were collected using a two-part questionnaire including a demographic information form and a 34-item caring attributes questionnaire (CAQ).

It was shown that the mean score of students' caring attributes was 122.03 ± 11.77 at a desirable level (higher than the median score (= 104.5). No statistically significant difference in overall caring attribute scores was found among students across the three educational levels (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral) (p = 0.27). But at the undergraduate level with eight semesters, nursing students in the fifth semesters have the highest caring attributes (p = 0.04). Also, the undergraduate students had higher scores on the caring negation compared to the master students and PhD students (p = 0.03). The PhD. students scored significantly higher on the scores of caring communication compared to the undergraduate and master students (p = 0.009).

While overall caring attributes were at a desirable level, the study revealed significant differences in specific attributes based on educational level. These findings highlight the importance of considering educational level when fostering caring behaviors in nursing students, particularly in communication and negation aspects of care.