The effect of professional values ​​of nurses working in surgical clinics on care behaviors: Case of Zonguldak province

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of professional values on care behaviors of nurses working in surgical clinics. The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 245 nurses that working in the surgical units of the hospitals in Zonguldak. The data was collected by the Personal Information Form, the Professional Values of Nurses Scale (PVNS) and the Caring Behavior Scale-24 (CBS-24). Descriptive and correlational tests were used to analyze the data. In the study, the mean age of the nurses was 33.63 ± 7.53, 82.9% were women and 68.6% were married, 68.2% were bachelor's degree and 47.8% were occupational years 11 and over. 71.4% of the nurses work as clinical nurses, 9.8% are operating nurses and 13.5% are nurses as intensive care nurses. 56.3% of the nurses did not attend the scientific congress and 64.9% were not members of a professional association. The percentage of nurses who have received training in professional values is 55.1% and 57.1% is those who have been trained in ethical deontology. The mean total PVNS score of the nurses working in the surgical units was 118.26 ± 21.10, the mean of the sub-dimensions of the scale; human dignity was 42.24 ± 7.91, responsibility was 26.03 ± 5.21, action was 18.81 ± 3.91, security was 15.67 ± 2.84, autonomy was 15.49 ± 3.10. The mean total score of the nurses in CBS-24 was 5.25 ± 0.66, and the subscale mean of the scale; assurance 5.21 ± 0.72, respectfulness 5.21 ± 0.73, knowledge skill 5.50 ± 0.63 and commitment 5.13 ± 0.73. There is a weak, positive and significant relationship between the professional values of nurses working in surgical units (PVNS) and the scale of care behaviors (CBS-24). The study showed that professional values and care behaviors of nurses working in surgical clinics were high and professional values had a positive effect on care behaviors. In line with this result, it can be suggested that personal and managerial activities should be carried out to improve the professional values of nurses working in surgical units and internalize their care behaviors. KEY WORDS: Surgical nursing, care behaviors, professional values.