The Study On Professional Values Among Nursing Undergraduate In Private Colleges

Research PurposeUndergraduate program for medical and nursing majors lies at the core of higher medical education. Competing with those from public colleges and universities, the graduates of private ones are often distained and rejected in job interviews and thus feel rather bewildered and frustrated by the apparent imbalance between their efforts and returns. Consequently, a large portion of undergraduates in private colleges and universities have shown much skepticism and indifference to nursing as a profession, which, moreover, can affect their career planning and cause a nursing talent drain. This thesis is built on a theoretical exploration and a questionnaire-based quantitative study of the professional values of nursing undergraduates in the private-owned Wanjie Medical College. It aims to detect the trends and characteristics of professional values in nursing undergraduates in private colleges and universities and help improve professional values education in such schools by offering some reference and inspiration.Research Methods(1) Questionnaire DesignThe questionnaire used in this study is comprised of a table about the personal facts of the respondents and a measuring scale for professional values compiled by Jin Shenghua and Li Xue in2005, which, in turn, includes two parts, one for terminal professional values and the other for instrumental professional values. This scale consists of34questions designed in10dimensions and adopts a five-level value assignment. The average value of each dimension will be worked out and the higher an average value is, the more importance nursing undergraduates attach to the corresponding dimension. (2) Survey ProceduresA sample was drawn from the freshmen, sophomores and juniors majoring in nursing in Shandong Wanjie Medical College. A total of450questionnaires were issued,428of which are collected and judged valid, registering an effective response rate of95.1%.(3) Statistical ProcessingThe data collected through the above-mentioned survey were described and analyzed by SPSS13.0. The statistical description of the data is measured by mean+/-standard deviation. The comparison and contrast between any two sets of data are conducted through T testing and Chi-square testing. Multiple sets of data are compared and contrasted by analysis of variance. P<0.05was considered statistically significant.Rsearch Results(1) The average score of professional values in each dimension of the sample, from high to low, is:career prospects (4.12±0.63)> pay/prestige (3.98±0.72)> family maintenance (3.90±0.73)> achievements/fulfillments (3.88±0.72)> ethics (3.63±0.66)> benefits (3.44±0.76)> interest and disposition (3.33±0.72)> easiness/stability (3.16±0.63)> position pursuit (3.11±0.74)> community contribution (3.02±0.70).(2) Different shaping factors for professional values of nursing undergraduates in private colleges and universities exist in each dimension. The variance between scores of achievements/fulfillments and community contribution is statistically significant, with the juniors scoring the highest and the freshmen the lowest in the former and vice versa in the latter. In terms of interest/disposition and ethics, the scores of the nursing undergraduates from one-child families are significantly higher than those of the undergraduates from multi-child families and the variance between the two is statistically significant. The undergraduates from rural areas scored much higher in family maintenance than those from urban areas, resulting into a statistically significant variance between the two. The scores of student leaders in position pursuit and achievements/fulfillments are far higher than those of the common nursing undergraduates and the variance between the two is statistically significant. The nursing undergraduates who have got relatives and friends working in the medical service scored much higher in career prospect than those who have not, suggesting a statistically significant variance. The undergraduates who made nursing their first choice in their college entrance examination application and those who did not showed no statistically significant variance in their scores in family maintenance, position pursuit, and community contribution; however, the former scored much higher than the latter in achievements/fulfillments, revealing a statistically significant variance between the two.Cultivation Strategy(1) The research findings suggest that the nursing undergraduates of private colleges and universities favor their major for its career prospect but pay more attention to the pay and prestige this major will be able to bring to them. This indicates that they are inclined to material comforts and lack adequate career dedication and commitment. In response, development of professional competence and cultivation of proper professional values should be integrated in nursing education.(2) The low scores in community contribution point out the imperative to raise career awareness in nursing undergraduates. On one hand, they need positive energy towards the nursing career. On the other hand, career planning should be made properly for different phases of life. Last but not the least, self-awareness and self-efficacy in nursing undergraduates should be boosted.(3) A new education system for professional values can be built through the following measures:step up enrollment publicity to improve voluntary selection rate among college entrance examination candidates; enhance nursing professionalism through multi-stage education; optimize the nursing training scheme for undergraduates, paying special attention to humanistic issues involved in nursing; offer career planning counseling in response to the scoring variance among freshmen, sophomores and juniors,(4) Make education for nursing professional values more humanistic and focused by taking humanity courses as its pilot and major nursing courses as its core respectively. (5) Qualify the college staff by optimizing their knowledge structure and elevating their professional ethics, laying a sound basis for cultivating proper professional values in the nursing undergraduates of private colleges and universities.