Relationships Among Nursing Professionalism, Nurse Image, and Core Elements of Nursing Professionalism that Nursing Students Perceive

Purpose: This study investigates the level of nursing professionalism and factors that affect nurse perceptions. Method: This study is a descriptive study involving 443 nursing students from two universities. Data were collected in September 2012 via a structured self-report questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. Results: The mean scores for nurse image, core elements of nursing professionalism and nursing professionalism were 3.65±.46, 4.17±.39 and 3.59±.45, respectively. Nursing Professionalism had a significant positive correlation with nurse image (r=.749, p<.001) and core elements of nursing professionalism (r=.365, p<.001). In multiple linear regression, factors that influenced nursing professionalism were: temperament as nurses, professionalism, vision of career, role performance of nurses' image, and fundamental nursing practical experience. These variables explained about 58.8% of the total variance in nursing professionalism. Conclusion: For more positive nursing professionalism among students, more attention should be paid to enhancing the positive image of nurses. Doing so can serve as a fundamental resource for the development of appropriate strategies for nursing professionalism.