The Relationship Between Nursing Students’ Attitudes Towards Nursing Diagnosis and Their Professional Values

ABSTRACT Purpose: The research was planned to examine the relationship between the attitudes of nursing students against the nursing diagnoses and their professional values. Methods: The sample of this descriptive and correlational study consisted of 147 second, third- and fourth-year nursing students in the nursing department of a state university at the South Marmara Region. Personal information form was used to collect data, Positions on Nursing Diagnosis Scale was used to evaluate attitudes towards nursing diagnoses, and Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised was used to evaluate professional values. The scales were converted into an online questionnaire in the Google® Survey database and were sent to students via electronic communication programs. Results: The mean age of the students participating in the study was 21.16±1.43. It was determined that the professional values score averages of students were at a high level with 120.54±10.76, and their attitudes towards nursing diagnosis mean scores were quite positive with 124.82±15.87 and there was a moderately strong positive relationship between them (r=.472 p< .01). Conclusion: This study showed that there is consensus among the majority of students that NANDA nursing diagnoses is a professional classification system that enables nursing care to be delivered in a safer and systematic way. Adoption of professional values by nursing students is an important element to provide an understanding of nursing knowledge and science. Nursing diagnoses are the visible face of nursing science in patient care. These two issues should be emphasized at every stage of nursing education in terms of the visibility of the nursing profession. Keywords: Attitudes; nursing diagnosis; nursing students; professionalism