Nurses' attitudes toward dimensions of nursing practice

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Professionals
• Attitudinal Studies

Background:

• Understanding nurses' perceptions of their professional behaviors is crucial for nursing education and practice.
• Previous research has not fully elucidated the specific dimensions of nursing behaviors that nurses prioritize.
• The National League for Nursing (NLN) provides educational standards that influence nursing practice and perception.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine nurses' attitudes toward various nursing behaviors.
• To determine the relative importance nurses attribute to different dimensions of nursing behaviors.
• To validate an attitudinal instrument measuring nurses' perceptions of their role.

Main Methods:

• Development and administration of a novel attitudinal instrument to 196 female nurses.
• Sample obtained from nine NLN-accredited schools in Connecticut.
• Factor analysis was employed to analyze the instrument's psychometric properties and identify underlying constructs.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis identified seven distinct factors, explaining 63.1% of the variance in nurses' attitudes.
• Three of these identified factors aligned with the five a priori constructs used in instrument development.
• The study highlights specific components of the nursing role that are perceived as important by nurses.

Conclusions:

• The developed instrument effectively captures nurses' perceptions of nursing behaviors.
• Findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of the nursing role.
• Results can inform nursing curricula and professional development to align with nurses' perceived priorities.