PROFESSI ONAL SOCI ALI ZATI ON: STUDENTS BECOMI NG NURSES
Gilber t o Tadeu Shiny ashik i1 I sabel Am élia Cost a Mendes2 Mar ia Au x iliador a Tr ev izan2 René A Day3
Shinyashik i GT, Mendes I AC, Tr ev izan MA, Day RA. Pr ofessional socializat ion: st udent s becom ing nur ses. Rev Lat ino- am Enfer m agem 2006 j ulho- agost o; 14( 4) : 601- 7.
Usually colleges ar e ev aluat ed by t he qualit y of t he k now ledge and t echnical t r aining offer ed t o t he st udent s. Lit t le at t ent ion is given t o t he acquisit ion of t he values, behaviors and at t it udes necessary t o assum e t heir pr ofessional r ole. This ex plor at or y st udy aim s t o incr ease under st anding of t he pr ofessional socializat ion process t hat occurs at nursing schools and t he result s obt ained t hrough t he socializat ion of professional values and st andards. The educat ional experience of nursing st udent s involves m ore t han a body of scient ific knowledge and t he acquisit ion of abilit ies t o provide care t o pat ient s. Quest ionnaires were filled out by 278 st udent s of t wo public Nursing Schools in São Paulo st at e, 164 in school A and 114 in school B. The result s indicat ed t hat som e pr ofessional v alues, nor m s and behav ior s ar e influenced by College y ear s, st udy ing at a College of Nur sing dur ing four y ear s leads t o a differ ence in v alues, nor m s and pr ofessional behav ior .
DESCRI PTORS: h igh er edu cat ion in st it u t ion s; social v alu es; edu cat ion , n u r sin g; sch ools, n u r sin g; st u den t s, nur sing; nur se's r ole
SOCI ALI ZACI ÓN PROFESI ONAL: ESTUDI ANTES VOLVI ÉNDOSE ENFERMEROS
Habit u alm en t e, las f acu lt ades son ev alu adas por la calidad del con ocim ien t o y capacit ación t écn ica ofr ecidos a los alum nos, y se da poca at ención a la adquisición de los v alor es, com por t am ient os y act it udes necesarios para asum ir su papel profesional. La finalidad de est e est udio explorat orio es aum ent ar la com prensión acer ca del pr oceso de socialización pr of esion al qu e ocu r r e en f acu lt ades de en f er m er ía y de los r esu lt ados alcanzados a t r av és de la socialización de v alor es y nor m as pr ofesionales. La ex per iencia educacional abar ca m ás que un cuer po de conocim ient os cient íficos y la adquisición de habilidades de les cuidar a los pacient es. Cuest ionar ios fuer on llenados por una m uest r a de 278 est udiant es de dos Facult ades Públicas de Enfer m er ía en el Est ado de São Paulo, 164 en la Facult ad A y 114 en la B. Los r esult ados indican que algunos v alor es, norm as y com port am ient os profesionales son influenciados por el t iem po de perm anencia en la facult ad, y que est u d i a r en u n a Fa cu l t a d d e En f er m er ía d u r a n t e cu a t r o a ñ o s l l ev a a d i f er en ci a s d e v a l o r es, n o r m a s y com p or t am ien t os p r of esion ales.
DESCRI PTORES: inst it uciones de enseñanza super ior ; v alor es sociales; educación en enfer m er ía; escuelas de enfer m er ía; est udiant es de enfer m er ía; r ol de la enfer m er a
SOCI ALI ZAÇÃO PROFI SSI ONAL: ESTUDANTES TORNANDO-SE ENFERMEI ROS
Habit u alm en t e, as f acu ldades são av aliadas pela qu alidade do con h ecim en t o e t r ein am en t o t écn ico propiciados ao est udant e e pouca at enção é dada à aquisição dos valores, com port am ent os e at it udes necessários par a assum ir seu papel pr ofissional. Est e est udo ex plor at ór io t em o obj et iv o de aum ent ar a com pr eensão do p r ocesso d e socialização p r of ission al q u e ocor r e n as f acu ld ad es d e en f er m ag em e d os r esu lt ad os ob t id os at r av és d a so ci al i zação d o s v al o r es e n o r m as p r o f i ssi o n ai s. A ex p er i ên ci a ed u caci o n al v i v en ci ad a p el o s est u d an t es d e en f er m ag em en v olv e m ais d o q u e u m cor p o d e con h ecim en t os cien t íf icos e a aq u isição d e habilidades para cuidar do pacient e. Um a am ost ra de 278 est udant es de duas faculdades públicas de enferm agem n o est ado de São Pau lo pr een ch eu qu est ion ár ios, 1 6 4 da facu ldade A e 1 1 4 da facu ldade B. Os r esu lt ados i n d i ca m q u e a l g u n s v a l o r es, n o r m a s e co m p o r t a m en t o s p r o f i ssi o n a i s sã o i n f l u en ci a d o s p el o t em p o d e perm anência na escola, e que est udar durant e quat ro anos em um a faculdade de Enferm agem leva a diferenças de v alor es, n or m as e com por t am en t os pr ofission ais.
DESCRI TORES: i n st i t u i çõ es d e en si n o su p er i o r ; v a l o r es so ci a i s; ed u ca çã o em en f er m a g em ; esco l a s d e en fer m agem ; est u dan t es de en fer m agem ; papel do pr ofission al de en fer m agem
Disponible en castellano/ Disponível em língua portuguesa SciELO Brasil w w w .scielo.br/ rlae 1
I NTRODUCTI ON
T
he aim of t his paper is t o cont ribut e t o an incr eased under st anding of pr ofessional socializat ionp r o c e s s e s i n n u r s i n g i n B r a z i l . Pr o f e s s i o n a l
socializat ion is a process t hrough which people learn,
d u r i n g t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g , t h e s k i l l s ,
k n ow ledge, v alu es, beh av ior s an d at t it u des n eeded
t o t ak e u p t h eir pr of ession al r ole( 1 - 4 ). Lik e all ot h er
p r o f e s s i o n s , n u r s i n g d e d i c a t e s g r e a t t i m e a n d
r esour ces t o t he educat ional pr epar at ion of nur ses( 5).
Nu r si n g st u d en t s’ ed u cat i o n al ex p er i en ces
i n v o l v e m o r e t h a n a cq u i r i n g a b o d y o f sci e n t i f i c
k n ow ledge an d pat ien t car e sk ills. Nu r sin g st u den t s
lear n h ow t o r elat e t o p at ien t s an d t h em selv es as
n u r s e s , t h a t i s , t o c o n s t r u c t t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l
i d e n t i t i e s . Th u s , w h i l e t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f t h e
so ci a l i za t i o n p r o cess g en er a t es b en ef i t s, i t s n o n
-occu r r en ce en t ails sev er e con sequ en ces( 6 ).
I t is im port ant t o underst and t he socializat ion
p r ocess t h at w ill occu r w h en t h ese n ew g r ad u at es
begin work in a healt h care organizat ion. The values,
at t it udes and behaviors t hat were socialized in college
w i l l b e a sse sse d i n t h e g r a d u a t e s’ se l e ct i o n a n d
int egrat ion int o t he organizat ion. Their adj ust m ent will
in f lu en ce or g an izat ion al st ab ilit y an d com m it m en t ,
s a t i s f a c t i o n , t h e f e e l i n g o f m u t u a l a c c e p t a n c e ,
in v olv em en t w it h w or k an d in t er n al m ot iv at ion( 7 , 8 ).
Resear ch about t he socializat ion of new ly gr aduat ed
n u r ses con clu ded t h at t h e est ablish m en t of n u r sin g
as a profession is det erm ined by t he w ay nurses are
socialized( 9 ). Th e classic st u dy by Kr am er obser v ed
t h a t i n a d e q u a t e so ci a l i z a t i o n i s a sso ci a t e d w i t h
t u r n o v er an d d i sm i ssal r eq u est s am o n g n u r ses i n
general hospit als( 10). Careless m anagem ent of t he first
pr ofessional ex per iences can lead t o low m ot iv at ion
and pr oduct iv it y, dem oralizat ion and decr eased car e
of pat ient s( 9).
CONCEPT OF PROFESSI ONAL SOCI ALI ZATI ON
Var ious aut hor s have pr oposed definit ions of
t he t er m “ pr ofessional socializat ion” :
“ t h e p r ocess t h r ou g h w h ich in d iv id u als ar e
induct ed int o t heir cult ure. I t involves t he acquisit ion
o f a t t i t u d e s a n d v a l u e s, o f sk i l l s a n d b e h a v i o u r
pat t erns m aking up social roles est ablished in t he social
st r uct ur e”( 1 ).
“ in v olv es acqu ir in g t h e r equ isit e k n ow ledge
and skills and also t he sense of occupat ional ident it y
an d in t er n alizat ion of occu pat ion al n or m s t y pical of
fully qualified pr act it ioner s”( 2).
“ a pr ocess of lear ning t o abandon old r oles
and self concept ions and t o acquir e new ones... and
i s acco m p l i sh ed b y a p r o cess b y m ean s o f w h i ch
people select iv ely acqu ir e t h e v alu es an d at t it u des,
t he int erest s, skills and knowledge - in short t he cult ure
- c u r r e n t i n t h e g r o u p i n w h i c h t h e y s e e k
m em bership... professional socialisat ion refers t o bot h
t he int ended and t he unint ended consequences of an
edu cat ion al pr ogr am ”( 3 ).
“ t h e co m p l e x p r o ce ss b y w h i ch a p e r so n
a c q u i r e s t h e k n o w l e d g e , s k i l l s , a n d s e n s e o f
o ccu p a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y t h a t a r e ch a r a ct e r i st i c o f a
m e m b e r o f t h a t p r o f e s s i o n . I t i n v o l v e s t h e
int er nalizat ion of t he v alues and nor m s of t he gr oup
int o t he person’s own behavior and self concept ion”( 4).
Three t hem es em erge from t hese definit ions.
One is r elat ed t o v alues and t o st andar ds w hich ar e
v a l u es m a d e m o r e co n cr et e. New st u d en t s en t er
n u r sin g colleg e alr ead y w it h a set of v alu es w h ich
can be changed t hr ough t he socializat ion pr ocess in
or d er t o r ef lect t h e v al u es of t h e p r of essi on . Th e
second t hem e is about behavior; when values change,
behav ior also changes. The t hir d t hem e is r elat ed t o
t h e s o c i o p s y c h o l o g i c a l a s p e c t o f p r o f e s s i o n a l
so ci a l i za t i o n , w h i ch o ccu r s i n si d e t h e i n d i v i d u a l ,
ch an g in g h is/ h er self - con cep t so t h at p r of ession al
ident it y is dev eloped( 11).
Pr ofession al socializat ion is a cr it ical aspect
of nursing st udent s’ developm ent and it occurs in t he
bot h t he educat ional inst it ut ion as well as in t he clinical
con t ex t( 6 ). Pr of essi on al soci al i zat i on f or g r ad u at es
h ap p en s i n t w o p h ases: f i r st , so ci al i zat i o n o ccu r s
t hr ough educat ion and t r aining, w hich is par t icular ly
relat ed t o t he cont ent s of t he role. This is followed by
socializat ion t h r ou gh t h e w or k en v ir on m en t an d it s
agent s. Som e aspect s of t he first socializat ion can be
d i s c a r d e d n o w , s o t h a t p r o f e s s i o n a l s a c t
pr ofessionally, w hile som e ot her s w ill be m aint ained,
d ep en d in g on t h e f or ces, p r of ession al ch oices an d
sit uat ional r est r ict ions( 12).
NURSES’ ROLES
Roles define how individuals act , int ernalizing
act ion, am ong ot her r efer ence r oles. The acquisit ion
of a n ew r ole in it iat es t h e in div idu al in t o a specif ic
so ci a l g r o u p . Th e a ssu m p t i o n o f a r o l e a n d t h e
so ci a l i za t i o n p r o cess essen t i a l l y o ccu r d u r i n g t h e
un der gr adu at e cou r se. People w h o t ak e u p t h e r ole
of nurses not only assim ilat e new fact s and learn new
s k i l l s , b u t a r e i m m e r s e d i n a n e w c u l t u r e w i t h
e x p e c t a t i o n s a b o u t v a l u e s a n d s t a n d a r d s . Th e y
sim u lt an eou sly dev elop an iden t it y an d self est eem
t h r ou gh in t er act ion w it h r ole m odels an d j u dgm en t
about ot her people’s r eact ions t o t he r ole( 13).
One crit ical issue is how t he values and ideas
abou t n u r sin g t h at st u den t s br in g alon g w it h t h em
( ant icipat ed socializat ion) m ay be in conflict w it h t he
obj ect iv es of t h e t r ain in g or gan izat ion . Pr of ession al
so ci al i zat i on i n v ol v es ch an g i n g p eop l e’s at t i t u d es,
v alues, beliefs and self im ages, as w ell as pr ov iding
skills and knowledge. Each profession has a clear idea
ab ou t t h e at t it u d es an d v alu es it s f u t u r e m em b er s
need t o dev elop and w hat end pr oduct is ex pect ed.
On t h e o t h e r h a n d , s t u d e n t s c a n b r i n g v a r y i n g
co n ce p t i o n s o f w o r k r e q u i r e m e n t s, i n t e r e st s a n d
con cep t ion s, w h ich m ay or m ay n ot b e com p at ib le
wit h t he obj ect ives of t he program . These t wo fact ors
- obj ect ives of t he pr ogr am and or ient at ions br ought
by st udent s - j oin t o creat e a variet y of problem s and
pot ent ial conflict s in t he socializat ion pr ocess.
A st u d y of n u r sin g st u d en t s su g g est s t h at
p r o f e ssi o n a l so ci a l i za t i o n i n v o l v e s a se q u e n ce o f
phases. First , t here is a change from broad and social
o b j e c t i v e s t h a t m a d e t h e s t u d e n t c h o o s e t h e
profession of nursing t o t he proficiency and m ast ering
o f sp e ci f i c w o r k t a sk s. N e x t , a r e f e r e n ce g r o u p
d ev elop s, b ased on ot h er sig n if ican t f act or s in t h e
w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t . Fi n a l l y, t h e v a l u e s o f t h e
o ccu p a t i o n a l g r o u p a r e i n t e r n a l i ze d a n d t h e n e w
st u d en t a ssu m es a t t i t u d es, v a l u es a n d b eh a v i o r s
prescribed by t he group( 14). But t here is a consensus
in lit erat ure about t he im port ance and need t o work
on values during st udent s' t im e in school.( 15).
METHODOLOGY
Th e aim of t h is st u d y w as t o ex am in e t h e
st an d ar d s an d ch an g es in p r of ession al v alu es as a
f u n ct i o n o f t h e p r o f e ssi o n a l so ci a l i za t i o n p r o ce ss
developed in college during t he nursing undergraduat e
period ( four years) . The cross sect ional approach was
ch o se n b e ca u se o f t h e l o w e r co st a n d a sh o r t e r
durat ion required for dat a collect ion. Thus t he passage
of t im e ( d u r at ion of u n d er g r ad u at e p r og r am ) w as
elim inat ed by t he sam pling of diverse st udent groups
f r o m d i f f e r e n t a ca d e m i c y e a r s( 1 6 ). A l o n g i t u d i n a l
m e t h o d w o u l d h a v e a l l o w e d f o r a m o r e p r e ci se
ident ificat ion of t he variat ion in changes as a funct ion
of t he socializat ion process. Given t hat t he long dat a
collect ion p er iod ( f ou r y ear s) w ou ld h av e r eq u ir ed
t he cont inuit y of t echnical st aff and financial support ,
a n d t h e sa m p l i n g p r o b l e m o f l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f
subj ect s who could be followed during four years, we
chose t o car r y out a cr oss sect ional st udy.
Th r ee r esear ch qu est ion s w er e posed:
- How does t he professional socializat ion which occurs
in nur sing colleges influence st udent s‘ acquisit ion of
p r of ession al v alu es?
- Wh at ch an g es o ccu r i n r el at i o n t o t h ese v al u es
t hr ough t he pr ofessional socializat ion?
- How do dem ographic fact ors influence t he acquisit ion
of pr ofession al v alu es?
The st udy quest ionnair e w as developed fr om
p r ev iou sly u sed q u est ion n air es, w h ose r esu lt s h ad
i n d i c a t e d s o m e v a r i a b l e s t h a t i n f l u e n c e d t h e
p r o f e s s i o n a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s . Th e s e
qu est ion n air es w er e adapt ed fr om st u dies v alidat ed
b y d if f er en t au t h or s. Th is p r oced u r e w as aim ed at
reducing t he m argin of error caused by t he m et hod( 17)
and allow ing for int er cult ur al com par at iv e st udies:
The st udy quest ionnaire consist ed of six part s:
- D e m o g r a p h i c d a t a: a g e , ci v i l st a t u s, ci t y o f educat ion, sem est er enr olled in, r eligion and college.
- Vocat ional dat a: included t he age of choosing t he nur sing car eer, w het her nur sing w as t he fir st car eer
opt ion, and t he desir e t o change t o anot her car eer.
- Socioeconom ic dat a: Parent s’ educat ion level and fam ily ’s socioecon om ic st at u s.
- Pr ofe ssion a l socia liz a t ion( 11)
: The quest ionnair e
included 18 quest ions from a set of 54 it em s developed
by DuToit in 1995, com pr ising st at em ent s about t he
subj ect and nursing. The it em s used a five- point Likert
scale and covered four dim ensions: a) Career values;
b ) Pe r s o n a l i t y Ch a r a c t e r i s t i c s ; c ) Pr o f e s s i o n a l
Co m p e t e n ce s a n d d ) Pr o f e ssi o n a l Va l u e s. Th e se
dim ensions w er e ext r act ed t hr ough fact or ial analysis.
The alpha coefficient is 0.8365, which m eans t hat t he
scale can be consider ed r eliable.
Likert scale it em s. For each it em , respondent s indicat e
t h e im p or t an ce of t h e v alu e st at em en t ( f r om “ n ot
i m p o r t an t ” t o “ m o st i m p o r t an t ” ) f o r each n u r si n g
pract ice. The NPVS is based on t he 11 principles found
in t he Am er ican Nur ses Associat ion’ et hics code. The
it em s cover 11 dim ensions: Respect for life, Pr ivacy/
Co n f i d e n t i a l i t y, A d v o c a c y, Tr u t h - A c c o u n t a b i l i t y /
Re sp o n si b i l i t y, Kn o w l e d g e Co m p e t e n ce , D e ci si o n
Mak in g / Cr it ical Th in k in g , Kn ow led g e Dev elop m en t ,
Qu alit y of car e/ Nu r sin g ex cellen ce, Fair n ess/ Equ it y,
Pr of ession al im age/ I n t egr it y an d Alt r u ism / Act iv ism .
The alpha coefficient r epor t ed is 0.9451.
- Socializat ion in healt h professions( 19)
: This scale
deals w it h t he at t it ude t r ansfor m at ions t hat occur r ed
in d en t ist r y st u d en t s d u r in g d if f er en t p r of ession al
f o r m a t i o n p h a se s, a n d w a s a d a p t e d f o r Nu r si n g
st u d e n t s b y t h e st u d y a u t h o r s. Th e r e sp o n d e n t s
a ssessed t h e i m p o r t a n ce o f 1 5 d i f f er en t t r a i t s o f
n u r si n g p r a ct i ce o n a f i v e- p o i n t sca l e. Th e i t em s
co v er ed 3 co m p o n en t s: a) Per so n o r i en t at i o n ; b )
Scien ce or ien t at ion , an d c) St at u s or ien t at ion . Th e
alpha coefficient w as 0.8365.
The st udy sam ple consist ed of st udent s from
t wo public nursing colleges in t he Sout heast of Brazil.
St udent s at t he end of each of t he four years of t he
Nu r sin g cou r se w er e appr oach ed in class an d w er e
given inform at ion about t he st udy. Those who agreed
t o part icipat e in t he st udy signed t he free and inform ed
c o n s e n t f o r m s . Th e n , t h e y f i l l e d o u t t h e
q u e s t i o n n a i r e s . A v e r a g e c o m p l e t i o n t i m e w a s
appr ox im at ely 20 m inut es. At t he t w o colleges, 278
quest ionnair es w er e filled out : 164 in college A and
114 in college B.
RESULTS AND DI SCUSSI ON
Dat a sh ow ed t h at 2 2 . 7 % of st u d en t s w h o
answ er ed t he quest ionnair es w er e t ak ing t he second
sem est er of t h e Nu r sin g cou r se, 3 2 . 4 % t h e f ou r t h
sem est er, 25. 9% t he six t h sem est er and 19. 1% t he
eigh t h sem est er.
Resp on d en t s’ m ean ag e w as 2 1 . 5 8 y ear s,
wit h a range from 17 t o 45 years. Wom en were 96%
o f t h e r esp o n d en t s, w i t h 9 6 . 4 % b ei n g si n g l e an d
67.3% have never worked. Respondent s ( 29% ) spent
t h ei r ch i l d h o o d i n ci t i es o f b et w een 1 0 0 an d 5 0 0
t housand inhabit ant s; 21% in cit ies w it h bet w een 20
and 50 t housand inhabit ant s; 18% in cit ies wit h m ore
t han 500 t housand inhabit ant s; 14% in cit ies wit h 50
t o 100 t housand and t he rem aining 18% were in cit ies
w it h bet w een 5 an d 2 0 t h ou san d. Ov er h alf of t h e
sam ple ( 5 4 . 7 % ) w as con sider ed m iddle class, 2 4 . 5
% w er e low er class an d 2 0 . 8 % w er e con sider ed t o
b e f r om t h e h ig h class ( accor d in g t o t h e Br azilian
Econ om ic Classif icat ion Cr it er ion , dev eloped by t h e
ANEP - Nat ional Associat ion of Resear ch Com panies
- Dec. 2002)( 20).
Appr ox im at ely half of t he r espondent s chose
t he Nur sing car eer w hen t hey w er e bet w een 18 and
22 years of age and for 39.9% , Nursing was t he first
c a r e e r o p t i o n . A s t o t h e c a r e e r, 3 2 . 8 % o f t h e
i n t e r v i e w e e s w o u l d ch o o se a n o t h e r ca r e e r t h a n
Nu r sin g if t h ey cou ld. Most ( 6 0 . 8 % ) su bj ect s w er e
Cat holic, 20.9% were Spirit ist s 10.8% were Evangelics
and t he r em aining 8.5% w er e of no r eligion or w er e
classed as Ot her.
As t o t he fat her’s highest com plet ed educat ion
lev el, 2 4 . 5 % of t h e st u d en t s’ f at h er s h ad f in ish ed
prim ary educat ion; 37% secondary educat ion; 31.9%
u n d e r g r a d u a t e e d u c a t i o n a n d 6 . 6 % g r a d u a t e
e d u c a t i o n . I n r e l a t i o n t o t h e m o t h e r ’ s h i g h e s t
c o m p l e t e d e d u c a t i o n l e v e l , 2 1 . 3 % h a d f i n i s h e d
p r i m a r y e d u ca t i o n ; 4 0 . 1 % se co n d a r y e d u ca t i o n ;
33.9% under gr aduat e and 4.7% gr aduat e educat ion.
Alt hough sim ilar result s were found for a large
m aj or it y of t h e st at ist ics ( t able 1 ) , t h e t w o gr ou ps
( college A and B) show ed differ ences in som e it em s.
Test r esult s r ev ealed significant differ ences bet w een
part icipant s from colleges A and B for: sem est er, age
of car eer ch oice an d w ou ld ch oose an ot h er car eer
t han Nur sing.
Table 1 - Equalit y t est of sam ples in colleges A and B.
Test St at ist ics*
s c i h p a r g o m e D
s e l b a i r a
V Mann-WhitneyUWilcoxonW Z
. g i S . p m y s A
) d e l i a t -2 ( e
z i S y t i
C 9208.500 15649.500 -0.002 0.999
s s a l c c i m o n o c
E 7712.500 20273.500 -1.247 0.213
n o it a c u d e s ' r e h t o M
l e v e
l 9102.000 22632.000 -0.266 0.790
n o it a c u d e s ' r e h t a F
l e v e
l 8636.000 15077.000 -0.662 0.508
e s o o h c d l u o W
r e e r a c r e h t o n
a 6909.000 20112.000 -4.124 0.000
s u t a t s l a t i r a
M 9328.000 15883.000 -0.094 0.925
r e d n e
G 8999.000 15554.000 -1.568 0.117
e g
A 8924.500 22127.500 -0.358 0.721
r e e r a c f o e g A
e c i o h
c 7794.500 14349.500 -.2.412 0.016
e c n e i r e p x e k r o
W 8748.000 22278.000 -1.120 0.263
n o i g il e
R 9304.500 15859.500 -0.075 0.940
r e t s e m e
S 6960.500 20499.500 -3.741 0.000
I n co l l e g e A, 3 4 . 8 % o f p a r t i ci p a n t s w e r e
t ak ing t he second sem est er, 28% t he four t h, 16. 5%
t he sixt h and 20.75% t he eight h sem est er. I n college
B, on t he ot her hand, only 5.35% were in t he second
sem est er, 38.6% in t he fourt h, 39.5% in t he sixt h and
16.7% in t he eight h sem est er.
As t o t h e ag e w h en ch oosin g t h e Nu r sin g
career, t he m ean age in college A was higher t han in
college B. I n college A, 42.6% of r espondent s w ould
ch oose a car eer ot h er t h an Nu r sin g if t h ey cou ld ,
against only 18.8% in college B.
We also calcu lat ed st at ist ics f or or ien t at ion
( p e r s o n , s c i e n c e a n d s t a t u s ) , s o c i a l i z a t i o n
( p r o f essi o n al , p er so n al i t y, p r i d e ab o u t car eer an d
v o cat i o n ) , an d v al u e v ar i ab l es ( al t r u i sm / act i v i sm ,
adv ocacy, decision m ak ing/ cr it ical t hink ing, fair ness/
e q u i t y, k n o w l e d g e c o m p e t e n c e , k n o w l e d g e
d ev el o p m en t , p r i v a cy / co n f i d en t i a l i t y, p r o f essi o n a l
im age/ int egr it y, qualit y of car e, r espect for life, and
t rut h account abilit y/ responsibilit y) . Table 2 show s t he
n u m b e r o f r e sp o n d e n t s, m e a n sco r e s, st a n d a r d
d ev iat ion s an d m in im u m an d m ax im u m v alu es f or
each or ient at ion, socializat ion and v alue v ar iable.
Ta b l e 2 - Or i e n t a t i o n , s o c i a l i z a t i o n a n d v a l u e s
v ar iables st at ist ics
As show n b y Table 3 , st at ist ically significant r esult s
w e r e f o u n d a m o n g s e v e r a l d e m o g r a p h i c a n d
v ocat ion al v ar iables an d v alu es.
Ta b l e 3 - D i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n m e a n s c o r e s f o r
socializat ion v ar iables an d v alu es an d dem ogr aph ic
v ar i ab l es
s e l b a i r a
V N Mean Std.
n o i t a i v e
D MinimumMaximum n o i t a t n e i r O e c n e i c
S 278 4.14 0.5948 2.67 5
s u t a t
S 278 3.74 0.5638 2.33 5
n o s r e
P 275 4.24 0.5222 2.71 5
n o i t a z i l a i c o S l a n o i s s e f o r
P 274 3.74 0.5268 2.00 5
y t il a n o s r e
P 278 4.14 0.4272 3.00 5
r e e r a C t u o b a e d i r
P 271 4.13 0.5458 1.60 5
n o it a c o
V 278 4.12 0.7156 1.00 5
s e u l a V m s i v it c a / m s i u r tl a n a e
M 276 4.23 0.5148 2.80 5
y c a c o v d a n a e
M 275 4.12 0.5345 2.50 5
n o i s i c e d n a e M g n i k n i h t l a c it i r c / g n i k a
m 275 4.36 0.4831 3.00 5
y t i u q e / s s e n r i a f n a e
M 274 4.29 0.5208 2.75 5
e g d e l w o n k n a e M e c n e t e p m o
c 275 4.35 0.4103 3.25 5
e g d e l w o n k n a e M t n e m p o l e v e
d 276 4.11 0.5779 2.25 5
n a e M y t il a it n e d if n o c / y c a v i r
p 277 4.26 0.5098 2.67 5
l a n o i s s e f o r p n a e M y t i r g e t n i/ e g a m
i 275 4.22 0.5230 2.67 5
e r a c f o y t il a u q n a e
M 275 4.15 0.5560 2.75 5
e f il r o f t c e p s e r n a e
M 272 4.30 0.4829 3.20 5
-h t u r t n a e M -a s n o p s e r / y t il i b a t n u o c c a y t il i b 4 7
2 4.41 0.4551 3.25 5
We car r ied out t he Kr usk al Wallis and Mann
Whit ney t est s t o m easure t he difference bet ween t he
m ean scor es of d em og r ap h ic v ar iab les an d v alu es.
How long t he st udent s hav e been in college
in dicat es a sign if ican t dif f er en ce in t h e v alu es t h ey
assum e, st r engt hening t he hy pot hesis t hat t he t im e
in college and t he college it self ar e r elat ed t o v alue
c h a n g e s . H o w e v e r, o t h e r f a c t o r s a l s o e x e r t a n
im por t ant influence, par t icular ly v ocat ional v ar iables
and t he m ot her ’s educat ion lev el.
I n a n a t t e m p t t o i d e n t i f y, a t t h e s e t w o
colleg es, in w h at Nu r sin g cou r se y ear s d if f er en ces
o c c u r b e t w e e n t h e m e a n s c o r e s f o r o r i e n t a t i o n
variables, reward, socializat ion and values, we carried
out t he Mann Whit ney t est t o com par e t he follow ing
years: 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 2x3, 2x4 and 3x4.
s e l b a i r a V n o i t a z i l a i c o S s e u l a V d n a c i h p a r g o m e D s e l b a i r a
V Chi-Square Sig n o i t a t n e i r O e c n e i c
S -Yearofregistraiton -7.65 -0.054
s u t a t S c i m o n o c e o i c o S
- -11.35 -0.045
r e h t o M n o it a c u d E
- -13.60 -0.003
n o i g il e R
- -12.90 -0.045
s u t a t
S -Yearofregistraiton -6.53 -0.088
r e e r a C r e h t O
- -6850 -0.020
e g e ll o C
- -7393.0 -0.003
e c n e i r e p x e k r o W
- -6910.50 -0.011
e l p o e
P -Othercareer -6603.00 -0.013
n o i t a z i l a i c o S s e c n e t e p m o C l a n o i s s e f o r
P -Firstopiton -7811.50 -0.058
s c it s i r e t c a r a h C y t il a n o s r e
P -Age -10.79 -0.029
n o it a r t s i g e r f o r a e Y
- -16.71 -0.001
s e u l a v r e e r a
C -Yearofregistraiton -10.22 -0.017
r e e r a C r e h t O
- -4387.50 -0.000
e g e ll o C
- -5719.00 -0.000
n o it p O t s r i F
- -7326.00 -0.019
s e u l a V l a n o i s s e f o r
P -Yearofregistraiton -14.17 -0.003
r e e r a C r e h t O
- -6841.50 -0.017
e g e ll o C
- -7728.50 -0.012
r e d n e G
- -918.00 -0.031
s e u l a V m s i v it c A / m s i u r tl A y c a c o v d
A -College -7889.00 -0.054
l a c it i r C / g n i k a M n o i s i c e D g n i k n i h T y t i u q E / s s e n r i a
F -EducaitonMother -7.80 -0.050
e c n e t e p m o C e g d e l w o n
K -EducaitonMother -7.61 -0.055
t n e m p o l e v e D e g d e l w o n
K -Yearofregistraiton -8.94 -0.030
r e e r a C r e h t O
- -6992.50 -0.048
e g e ll o C
- -7807.00 -0.033
y t il a it n e d if n o C / y c a v i r P y t i r g e t n I / e g a m I l a n o i s s e f o r P e r a C y t il a u
Q -College -7467.00 -0.009
e f i L t c e p s e
R -Yearofregistraiton -15.48 -0.001
We found significant r esult s bet w een:
- fir st and second cour se y ear for car eer v alues;
- f ir st an d t h ir d y ear f or st at u s or ien t at ion , car eer
v alu e, k n ow ledge dev elopm en t , qu alit y of car e an d
r espect for life;
- fir st and four t h y ear for st at us or ient at ion, r espect
for life and pr ofessional im age/ int egr it y ;
- se co n d a n d t h i r d y e a r f o r sci e n ce o r i e n t a t i o n ,
k now ledge dev elopm ent , qualit y of car e, r espect for
life and t r ut h- account abilit y / r esponsibilit y ;
- seco n d a n d f o u r t h co u r se y ea r f o r p r o f essi o n a l
so ci a l i z a t i o n , p e r so n a l i t y, v o ca t i o n , p r o f e ssi o n a l
im age/ int egr it y and r espect for life; and
- t hird and four t h year for vocat ion.
This reveals t hat a m aj orit y of changes occurs
bet w een t he second and t he t hir d cour se y ear.
These result s suggest som e conclusions about
t h e so ci a l i za t i o n p r o ce ss t h a t o ccu r s d u r i n g t h e
u n der gr adu at e n u r sin g cou r se:
The year of regist rat ion is an influent ial fact or for som e
v al u es
The y ear of r egist r at ion m ak es a differ ence
for changes in socialized professional values. I t should
d ef i n i t el y b e co n si d er ed w h a t o t h er d em o g r a p h i c
v ar iables can im pr ov e t he for ecast ing of changes.
College in it self also influences values: st at us
or ien t at ion , car eer v alu es an d Pr of ession al v alu es
( vocat ion) , knowledge developm ent and qualit y of care.
Vocat ional choice m akes a difference for som e values
I n a l m o st h a l f o f t h e v a l u e s, v o ca t i o n a l
v ar iab les seem t o b e r elat ed t o v alu e d if f er en ces.
S t a t u s a n d p e r s o n o r i e n t a t i o n s , i n c o r p o r a t i n g
p r o f e s s i o n a l c o m p e t e n c e s , c a r e e r v a l u e s a n d
know ledge developm ent ar e r elat ed t o t he vocat ional
choice, indicat ing t he im port ance of t his fact or. I f t he
st udent m akes a wrong vocat ional choice, t he im pact
o f co l l eg e o n t h e so ci a l i za t i o n o f t h ese v a l u es i s
w eak er.
The y ear of r egist r at ion does not m ak e a differ ence
For som e v alu es, t h e socializat ion v ar iable,
i.e. t he year of regist rat ion is not relat ed, which m eans
t hat it does not cont ribut e t o changes in t he following
v a r i a b l e s : Pe r s o n o r i e n t a t i o n , p r o f e s s i o n a l
com pet en ces, fair n ess/ equ it y v alu es an d k n ow ledge
com pet ence. Vocat ional values ar e r elat ed t o gender,
w h ile f air n ess/ equ it y an d pr of ession al com pet en ces
ar e r elat ed t o t he m ot her ’s educat ion lev el.
We hav e no infor m at ion about influent ial fact or s
For a n u m ber of v alu es ( Alt r u ism / Act iv ism ,
D e c i s i o n m a k i n g / Cr i t i c a l t h i n k i n g , Pr i v a c y /
Co n f i d e n t i a l i t y, Pr o f e ssi o n a l i m a g e / I n t e g r i t y a n d
Trut h- account abilit y/ Responsibilit y, we did not m anage
t o ident ify any variable t hat could help t o explain t he
d if f er en ce.
CONSI DERATI ONS
Cont r olling a lar ge quant it y of dem ogr aphic
v ar iables allow ed us t o v er ify w het her t he v ar iat ion
of pr of ession al v alu es w as du e t o t h e dem ogr aph ic
v ar i ab l es o r t o t h e t i m e t h e st u d en t r em ai n ed i n
colleg e.
The available dat a allow for som e prelim inary
r eflect ions. The ident ificat ion of v alue changes ov er
t i m e i n d i ca t e s t h e i m p o r t a n ce o f co l l e g e i n t h e
socializat ion of pr ofessional v alues.
Ta k i n g a n u n d e r g r a d u a t e Nu r si n g co u r se
during four years leads t o a difference in professional
v alu es, st an dar ds an d beh av ior s. Th e cu r r icu lu m at
t h ese t w o colleg es con t ain s som e em p h asis d u r in g
t he second and t hir d year, w hich leads t o var iat ions
in som e v alues. Mor eov er, each college possesses a
charact erist ic t hat is st rong enough t o influence som e
v alu es.
H o w e v e r, w e c a n n o t u n d e r e s t i m a t e t h e
in f lu en ce of d em og r ap h ic an d v ocat ion al v ar iab les.
So m e v a l u es a r e i n t er n a l i zed b ef o r e st u d en t s g o
t hr ough t he college ex per ience and changes depend
on ear lier socializat ion.
Finally, for som e values, w e did not m anage
t o ident ify any r elat ionship.
LI MI TATI ONS
One of t he fact ors t hat cause a cert ain degree
of difficult y for t he st udy is t he difference in t he st udy
sam ple; at one of t he colleges, t he num ber of last
-y ear st u d en t s is sm aller. Con seq u en t l-y, d if f er en ces
at t ribut ed t o college can be influenced by t he exist ing
A st udy of t he curricula could cont ribut e t o a
furt her underst and of what changes happen in second
and t hird- year subj ect s and act ivit ies, in order t o ident ify
t he t ransform at ions t hat occur during t his period.
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