Examining of Caring In Traditional and Non-traditional Nursing Students

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study examined traditional and non-traditional nursing students to determine if there are significant differences in caring. Methods: A descriptive comparative design was conducted using a convenience sampling using nursing students in an associate degree nursing program in northeastern Ohio, USA. A demographic survey and the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) were given to the students to complete. Data was analyzed to determine the measures of central tendency including frequencies, means, and standard deviation (SD). Independent t-tests were used for the mean responses and stand deviations utilized to measure the dispersion of the data. The total number of students participating was 249. Results: Traditional students were identified as 29.7% of the total while the non-traditional students were 70.3% of the group. The total scores for the CES of the traditional students were 157.24 with a SD of 13.31 and non-traditional students' total scores were 158.63 with a SD of 14.49. Results indicated that there were no significant differences identified between the two groups, including those students who had previous healthcare experience. Conclusions: Despite the findings, nurse educators must analyze the types of student who are entering nursing programs while assessing for those with caring as a part of their personality and interest for joining nursing. Without caring, patient outcomes may be affected. The results of this study indicated that caring, as the key to the nursing profession, is a needed attribute for those entering and pursuing care for individuals they are assigned to nurse.

Nursing Students' Perceptions of Their Own Caring Behaviors: A Multicountry Study

“…It is, therefore, necessary that nursing educators provide clinical environments that can model and promote caring in student nurses. Throughout this development, clinical instructors play an important role in making sure that students develop into caring persons through positive modeling and role modeling (Carlson, Kotze, & Van Rooyen, 2003;McEnroe-Petitte, 2014). In one study, instructors' caring behaviors positively influenced nursing students' caring behavior (Labrague et al, 2015).…”

“…This mutually constructed interaction and experience between faculty and students enables students to grow as caring nursing professionals (Wade & Kasper, 2006). This makes nursing education an ideal place to promote, shape, hone, and develop student caring because this is where personal involvement with others occurs (Khademian & Vizeshfar, 2008;McEnroe-Petitte, 2014;Wade & Kasper, 2006).…”

Impact of Instructors’ Caring on Students’ Perceptions of Their Own Caring Behaviors

“…As a central element in nursing, caring is believed to enhance the health and well‐being of patients and patient outcomes (Baldursdottir & Jonsdottir, ; Coates, ; Khademian & Vizeshfar, ; Labrague, ; Pesky, Nelson, Watson, & Bent, ; Ward, Cody, Schaal, & Hojat, ). For years, several investigators have attempted to define what constitutes caring; however, although considered to be a universal phenomenon, this concept remains ambiguous and difficult to define (McEnroe‐Petitte, ). Nevertheless, caring according to Watson (, ) is the nurse's moral ideal of preserving human dignity by assisting a person to find meaning in illness and suffering in order to restore, promote, enhance, and preserve human dignity.…”

“…Caring moments may not be limited only to nurse–patient interaction, as in nursing education, but they may also occur during faculty and student interactions. A mutual and reciprocal link between faculty and student enables the student to search for a meaning or wholeness and grow as a caring person (Sawatzky, Enns, Ashcroft, Davis, & Harder, ; Wade & Kasper, ), making nursing education an ideal place to promote and develop student caring because this is where personal involvement with others occurs (McEnroe‐Petitte, ; Khademian & Vizeshfar, ; Wade & Kasper, ).…”

“…As a central value of the nursing profession, it is believed that human caring can be learned, taught, and measured through nursing education and, when introduced early, modeled and reinforced throughout the curriculum (Alpers, Jarrell, & Wotring, The future for these students will be that of becoming more aware of the importance of caring and of developing into caring practitioners (Carlson, Kotze, & Van Rooyen, ; Gramling & Nugent, ; Noddings, ). Through positive faculty modeling and role modeling, nursing students can be professionally trained to develop the competency of caring (McEnroe‐Petitte, ). Moreover, when the climate of nursing education is perceived as caring, students acquire a professional way of being and learn to care as a professional nurse (Beck, ; Kelly, ; Labrague, ; Woodrow, ).…”