Nurses’ Perceptions of Professional Values and Ethics: A Cross-Sectional Study in University Hospital

Abstract

Aim

The professional values of nurses serve as the foundation for their interactions with patients, colleagues, and society. This study aims to determine nurses’ perceptions of professional values and the impact of ethics education on their perception of professional values.

Methods

The cross-sectional study included 215 nurses employed at a hospital providing tertiary health care services. Data were collected using the “Personal Information Form” and the “Nurses Professional Values Scale (NPVS).”

Results

Seventy-two-point-one percent of the participants were female, 89.8% received ethics education in the nursing curriculum, and 76.7% received ethics education in their professional life. The total NPVS score of the participants was 98.80 ± 17.15. The NPVS scores of nurses who received ethics education in the nursing curriculum were significantly higher (t = 2.291, p = .031). However, it was found that nurses working in intensive care units had significantly higher NPVS scores than nurses working in outpatient clinics (F = 5.474, p = .003).

Conclusion

The study found that including ethical education in the nursing curriculum had a positive impact on nurses’ perception of professional value. Including effective training on ethics in nursing or professional ethics, professionalism in the profession, and communication between colleagues in nursing education curricula is believed to have a positive impact on the quality of patient care, patient satisfaction, and professional values of nurses in health-care settings where health-care services are provided. Furthermore, it is advisable to conduct additional research on the factors contributing to the low professional values among nurses who work in outpatient clinics that offer outpatient treatment and care.