TY - JOUR
T1 - Professional identity and preparedness for hospital practice among undergraduate nursing students: A cross-sectional study
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Al-Noumani, Huda
AU - Al Zaabi, Omar
AU - Arulappan, Judie
AU - George, Hema Roslin
N1 - Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/2
Y1 - 2023/2
N2 - BACKGROUND: Professional identity is a crucial characteristic that undergraduate nursing students must possess to ensure effective and safe clinical practice. It has been identified as a factor influencing nursing student retention and their intention to remain in the nursing profession. However, the influential factors that impact the development of professional identity among nursing students currently are not well known.OBJECTIVES: To identify factors determining professional identity among undergraduate nursing students and to confirm the relationship between nursing students' professional identity and their preparedness for hospital practice.DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.SETTINGS: The largest public nursing college in Oman.PARTICIPANTS: 180 full-time undergraduate nursing students in their third and fourth years who had completed at least one clinical course.METHODS: Students completed validated, self-administered paper questionnaires through convenience sampling, including professional identity and preparedness for hospital practice scales.RESULTS: The mean total score for professional identity was 63.3 (SD = 10.5), indicating a moderate level of professional identity. The findings showed a low level of preparedness for hospital practice among nursing students, with, a mean total score of 165.8 out of 246 (SD = 30.4). We found a significant positive association between professional identity and preparedness for hospital practice (r = 0.43, p < 0.001), the number of clinical courses taken (r = 0.15, p = 0.041), enrolment in fourth-year clinical courses (H (4) = 19.9, p = 0.001), grade (H (3) = 7.8, p = 0.049) and the selection of nursing profession as the first choice (H (3) = 28.0, p = 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: The study has implications for identifying students with lower readiness for hospital practice and providing them with the necessary training. Nursing educators should prioritize reinforcing professional identity among students who have chosen nursing as a secondary option or have a lower grade. This can be achieved by promoting a positive nursing image and fostering a supportive clinical learning environment.
AB - BACKGROUND: Professional identity is a crucial characteristic that undergraduate nursing students must possess to ensure effective and safe clinical practice. It has been identified as a factor influencing nursing student retention and their intention to remain in the nursing profession. However, the influential factors that impact the development of professional identity among nursing students currently are not well known.OBJECTIVES: To identify factors determining professional identity among undergraduate nursing students and to confirm the relationship between nursing students' professional identity and their preparedness for hospital practice.DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.SETTINGS: The largest public nursing college in Oman.PARTICIPANTS: 180 full-time undergraduate nursing students in their third and fourth years who had completed at least one clinical course.METHODS: Students completed validated, self-administered paper questionnaires through convenience sampling, including professional identity and preparedness for hospital practice scales.RESULTS: The mean total score for professional identity was 63.3 (SD = 10.5), indicating a moderate level of professional identity. The findings showed a low level of preparedness for hospital practice among nursing students, with, a mean total score of 165.8 out of 246 (SD = 30.4). We found a significant positive association between professional identity and preparedness for hospital practice (r = 0.43, p < 0.001), the number of clinical courses taken (r = 0.15, p = 0.041), enrolment in fourth-year clinical courses (H (4) = 19.9, p = 0.001), grade (H (3) = 7.8, p = 0.049) and the selection of nursing profession as the first choice (H (3) = 28.0, p = 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: The study has implications for identifying students with lower readiness for hospital practice and providing them with the necessary training. Nursing educators should prioritize reinforcing professional identity among students who have chosen nursing as a secondary option or have a lower grade. This can be achieved by promoting a positive nursing image and fostering a supportive clinical learning environment.
KW - Cross-sectional study
KW - Hospital practice
KW - Middle East
KW - Oman
KW - Preparedness
KW - Professional identity
KW - Undergraduate nursing students
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UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d747cc87-7e80-301f-b2d5-f4057b60ca6b/
U2 - 10.1016/j.nedt.2023.106044
DO - 10.1016/j.nedt.2023.106044
M3 - Article
C2 - 38011753
AN - SCOPUS:85178208640
SN - 0260-6917
VL - 133
SP - 106044
JO - Nurse Education Today
JF - Nurse Education Today
M1 - 106044
ER -