Hemşirelik Öğrencilerinin Mesleki Benlik Saygısı ve Etkileyen Bazı Faktörlerin İncelenmesi

This study was made with the objective of examining in detail some factors that affect the professional self-esteem of the first and fourth year students in the Department of Nursing according to the bachelor‟s degree level education at the School of Health Services, at Eastern Mediterranean University. The sample of the study was composed of the first and fourth year students (181 persons), who were studying at the Department of Nursing, at the School of Health Services, at Eastern Mediterranean University.Whereas, the sampling was formed of the 169 students, who voluntarily accepted to participate in the study. The data in this study were collected by using the “Introductory Characteristics Questionnaire Form for Students” and the “Arıcak Professional Self-Esteem Scale”. Descriptive statistic (percentages), the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis H test were used in the statistical analysis of the data. Of the nursing students, 42% were between 18-19 years of age, 65.1% were females, the place where 37.9% of them lived was a province and 76.9% came from a nuclear family. Of the students, the number of siblings of 37.9% were two and 48.5% were the first child of the family. Of the nursing students participating in the study, 64.5% were first year students and 59.2% graduated from a regular high school. Of the nursing students participating in the study, 46.7% won the department of nursing through the Undergraduate Placement Examination and 72.2% preferred the department among their first 1-5 preferences. Of the students, 58% stated that they were pleased with school life and 52.7% that they had selected nursing because they liked it. Whereas, 29.6% of the students expressed that they had been in a hospital previously as a patient. Of the students, 63.9% became acquainted with the nursing profession from their hospital experience. When the distribution of the thoughts related to the nursing profession are taken into consideration, then 36.7% of the students defined the profession of nursing as an excellent and sacred profession. It was observed that the gender, number of siblings, preference order of higher education, being pleased with school life, reason for selecting profession and the thoughts related to the nursing profession were effective on the occupational self-esteem of the nursing students (p<.05). The preferences for a profession that are appropriate to their own personalities, interests and abilities when making a professional preference by the students and of being pleased with school life affects their occupational self-esteem. Consequently, it is thought that it would be effective to organize introductory programs on the nursing profession for students during high school, to establish effective communications with the teaching staff during their university education for developing even better the occupational self-esteem of the students, to provide career opportunities for the students being able to develop themselves in their professions and to organize activities for students at school.