Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the professional behaviors of nursing department students studying in their third and fourth years, and the factors affecting them.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with third and fourth-year students in the Nursing Department of Bursa Uludağ University Health Sciences Faculty during the academic year in the Spring semester 2018-2019. The research sample consisted of the 180 students who could be contacted on the dates the research was conducted and who agreed voluntarily to participate in the study. A “Student Description Form” and the “Nursing Students’ Professional Behavior Scale (NSPBS)” were used to collect research data.
Results: It was found that the average age of the students participating was 21,48±1,47 years, 71,7% were female, 63,9% were in their third year of study, 63,9% had chosen the nursing profession willingly, 68,3% liked the nursing profession, and 46.7% did not want to change their profession. The students’ total NSPBS score mean was found to be 117,95±12,84 (min: 56, max: 135). Statistically significantly higher NSPBS total mean scores compared to other students were found with female students, those who had chosen the nursing profession willingly, those who liked the nursing profession, those who thought that professional training had an effect on professional behaviors and those who did not want to change their profession (p<0,05).
Conclusion: As a conclusion of the study, it was found that the level of ability to conform to professional behaviors in third and fourth-year students at the nursing department was high.