Nurse role conception.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Studies
• Sociology of Professions
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Nursing role conceptions have historically influenced professional identity and practice.
• Previous research utilized the Corwin (1960) scale to assess role conception and deprivation.
• The mid-20th century saw distinct expectations for nursing roles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the established Corwin (1960) scale with a novel instrument for measuring nursing role concepts.
• To investigate the specific dimensions of bureaucratic, professional, and service-traditional role concepts.
• To ascertain if nursing role conceptions changed from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of two distinct measurement instruments for nursing role concepts.
• Utilized the Corwin (1960) scale and a newly developed scale assessing bureaucratic, professional, and service-traditional concepts.
• Data collection and analysis focused on identifying differences in role conceptions across time periods.

Main Results:

• The newly devised instrument identified distinct dimensions: bureaucratic, professional, and service-traditional role concepts.
• Significant differences were observed in nursing role conceptions between the 1950s and the 1970s.
• The study suggests the Corwin scale may not fully capture the evolving nature of nursing roles.

Conclusions:

• Nursing role conceptions underwent a notable transformation between the 1950s and 1970s.
• The new instrument provides a more nuanced understanding of contemporary nursing role concepts.
• Further validation of the new scale is recommended to refine its application in nursing research.