Self‐esteem and student nurses: An account of a descriptive study

Abstract

In this paper the authors describe a study of nursing students' self-reported self-esteem levels using a validated instrument: the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory 2 (CFSEI-2). The research question was: How do student nurses rate their own self-esteem levels? The paper offers a short review of some of the literature, followed by a description of the sample (a convenience sample of 101 undergraduate nursing students), data collection and analysis methods and the findings. The self-esteem components of CFSEI-2 are general, personal and social and these terms are defined in the text of this paper. The findings indicated that the mean scores for this sample of nursing students fell within normal levels for all three components of self-esteem. Younger students were found to have higher scores for the social subscale, which indicates that they had a higher perception of the quality of their relationships with their peers. The findings of this study indicate that these undergraduate student nurses' perceptions of their self-esteem were comparable to the normal ranges of self-esteem as assessed by the instrument.

Impact of an educational program on nursing students’ caring and self-perception in intensive clinical training in Jordan

“…It has been claimed that clinical supervision, if implemented effectively, will bring benefits as diverse as improved patient care through increased skills and knowledge,36,37 including reduction in stress levels and complaints as well as an increase in staff morale 20. Increasingly, research is identifying other benefits, including increased knowledge and awareness of possible solutions to clinical problems, increased confidence, reduced emotional strain and burnout, increased participation in reflective practice,38,39 and better self-awareness 33,40.…”

Religious and spiritual beliefs, self‐esteem, anxiety, and depression among nursing students

“…Irish nursing students' reported self‐esteem rose as they neared the end of their education program and their fear of negative evaluation decreased, however, their overall self‐esteem levels at their highest were only average (Begley & White, ). Findings of a study of the reported self‐esteem levels of two groups of student nurses, one in Thailand and one in the United Kingdom, indicated that the perceptions of self‐esteem in both groups were comparable to the normal ranges of self‐esteem as assessed by the instrument (Burnard et al ., ; Sasat et al ., ). A study conducted in northern Greece using the same instruments as this study found that the vast majority (61.5%) of a sample of nursing students reported both religious and spiritual beliefs and self‐esteem was found to be normal in 89.3% of them, but interestingly, nobody reported high self‐esteem levels (Papazisis et al ., ).…”

Peer learning partnerships: exploring the experience of pre‐registration nursing students

“…It would appear that the encouragement and support of a peer enhanced students’ self esteem and increased their confidence, as they recognised that success was an outcome of their own efforts. Self esteem involves a positive appraisal of oneself and is often associated with self respect, increased confidence and reduced stress (Burnard 2001). This is also reflected in a study by Glass and Walter (2000) who suggest that the engagement of students in peer mentoring processes of encouragement and support enhanced personal growth, self worth and belonging.…”