Examining the relationship among personality traits, self-concept and occu-pational perceptions of the nurses

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the personality traits, professional self-concept and the occupational perceptions of the nurses and to examine the relationship among them. Tools and Methods: This study is a descriptive and correlational research study. The sample of the study consisted of 185 nurses working at 2 private hospitals affiliated with a private foundation university and a medical center in Istanbul. 'Nurse Information Form', '10-Point Personality Scale', 'Perception Scale of Nursing Profession' and 'Professional Self Concept Scale in Nurses' were used as data collection tools in the research. Findings: Of the nurses participated in the survey, it was determined that their average age was 25.32 ± 5.02, 83.8% of them were female, 77.3% of them were single, 42.2% of them had graduate degrees, 49.2% of them were living with their families, 66.5% of them had middle income level, they had 3.93 ± 3.45 years of working experience in their institutions, 50.8% of them were service nurses and 68.6% of them were working in shifts. It was found that the average scores of the nurses that form the sample were higher in "Tender-mindedness" (8.69 ± 2.17), "Extroversion" (8.52 ± 2.13) and "Emotional Balance" (7.38 ± 3.07) sub-dimensions of the 10-Point Personality Scale. It was determined that the average score of the participants in the study for the "Occupational Satisfaction" sub-dimension of the " Professional Self-Concept Scale in Nurses' was 13.62 ± 3.34 and its internal consistency was α = 0.792; the average score for the 'Professional Competence' sub-dimension was 22.18 ± 3.24 and its internal consistency was α=0.822; the average score for the "Professional Attitude and Skill" sub-dimension was 74.51 ± 8.01 and its internal consistency was α = 0.818; and the average score for the scale total was 110.30 ± 12.53 and its internal consistency was α = 0.891. It was found that there was a statistically extremely significant positive correlation between the scores of the nurses participated in the study for the "Occupational Qualifications," "Occupational Status" sub-dimension of the "Perception Scale of Nursing Profession" and their scores for the "Occupational Satisfaction" sub-dimension of the " Professional Self-Concept Scale in Nurses'. (r = 0.302; p = 0.001; p<0.001). Result: The research shows that the occupational perception, personality traits and the self-concept of the nurses are influenced by each other. The existence of these three concepts at higher levels increases the nurse's professional practice behavior, job satisfaction and quality of care he/she provides. Key Words: Nurse, Personality Traits, Self-Concept, Occupational Perception