Measuring Nurses’ Self-Concept

Abstract

Little is known of nurses' self-concept in light of their professional identity or as working adults. This article explores the development and rigorous testing of a new self-concept instrument designed specifically for nurses. The new measure is based on the self-concept measurement theory of Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton. An expert panel was used to critique and aid refinement of the measure. The dimensions of nurses' self-concept were measured in six scales: General Nursing, Care, Staff Relations, Communication, Knowledge, and Leadership. Two groups participated in this study: Group 1 consisted of nursing students prior to graduation (n = 506) and Group 2 consisted of randomly selected, experienced, working nurses (n = 528). A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test the fit of a priori models. The results indicate that all scales possess good construct validity and a satisfactory fit with the data.

A cross-sectional study of drinking patterns, prelicensure nursing education, and professional identity formation

“…This is particularly important to the future of nursing as the profession has been called on the profession to lead change in advancing health policy (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Yet, this study found that leadership was the weakest aspect of the students' professional self-concept, mirroring findings from studies of practicing nurses (Cowin, 2001;Cowin, & Hengstberger-Sims, 2006;Hensel, 2011). If this is true perhaps the greatest challenge for the profession is not how to teach professional values, but how to recruit pre-licensure candidates who will best contribute to nursing's preferred future.…”

“…Survey data were collected in the fall semester of 2011 using the Nurse SelfConcept Questionnaire (NSCQ) and the Student Alcohol Questionnaire (SAQ). Created in Australia, the NSCQ has 36 items on 8-point ordinal response scales that measure the six dimensions of a nurse's professional self-concept described by Cowin (2001). The NSCQ has theoretical and construct validity.…”

“…Both professional identity and self-concept formation are thought to be developmental processes that begin before pre-licensure education and continue throughout a career, often becoming more stable with time (Cowin, 2001;Cowin, Craven, Johnson, & Marsh, 2006;Hensel & Stoelting Gettlefinger, 2011;Johnson et al, 2012;Cronenwett et al, 2007;Ware, 2008). Through the process of internalizing professional values, one's professional identity becomes self-evident in the nurse's lived experience and creates the foundation for promoting the ideals of the profession (NLN, 2010 Code of Ethics (2001) further specifies that nurses have an ethical responsibility to practice unimpaired and safely.…”

“…Framed within Cowin's (2001) model of nurse self-concept, the purpose of this study was to describe patterns of substance abuse in the form of drinking behaviors and professional identity among BSN nursing students. The specific aims of this study were to describe patterns of drinking and associated problems among BSN students at the study university and to explore relationships between professional identity in terms of nurse self-concept and alcohol use.…”

Translation and validation of the Nurses Self-Concept Instrument for college-level nursing students in Taiwan

“…A self-concept instrument is based on a multidimensional and dynamic framework (Cowin, 2001;Marsh and Craven, 2006). This multidimensional conceptual framework of self-concept involves knowledge, care, leadership, satisfaction, communication, and staff relations (Angel et al, 2012;Arthur, 1995;Arthur and Thorne, 1998;Cowin, 2001). Nurses' professional self-concept not only reflects nurses' selfperception of professional competencies but also indicates the skills that are essential for patient care (Milisen et al, 2009).…”