Professional values from nursing student's perspective in Kerman province: a descriptive study

Values in the nursing profession improve the quality of patient care and enhance job satisfaction among nurses. Therefore، promoting professional nursing values is an important aspect of nursing education. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the professional values among nursing students in their last semester in nursing schools across Kerman province. A total of 152 students in their last semester in five schools of nursing across Kerman province (cities of Kerman، Bam، Jiroft، Zarand and Rafsanjan) participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire that included demographic variables and Nursing Professional Values Scale - Revised (NPVS-R) in five dimensions (caring، activism، trust، professionalism and justice). The reliability of the questionnaire using Cronbach''s alpha coefficient was calculated at 0. 91. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential non-parametric statistical tests (Mann-Whitney and Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient) in SPSS 18. Of the five dimensions of professional values، the highest mean score (37. 8 ± 4. 6) pertained to the caring dimension and the lowest mean score (12. 68 ± 1. 92) was related to the justice dimension. There was a significant negative correlation between age and professional values (r = - 0. 02، P = 0. 01). Results of the Mann-Whitney test showed a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the justice، activism، trust and professionalism dimensions and sex (P < 0. 05) and between the total mean score of professional values and the place of education (P = 0. 003). From the perspective of students، the dimensions of professional values were prioritized in the following order: caring، trust، activism، professionalism and justice. Nevertheless، the majority of students were not aware of the importance of some dimensions of professional values. Therefore، appropriate planning and teaching methods and strategies are required to enhance all dimensions of professional values.