INVESTIGATION OF THE PROFESSIONAL SELF-CONCEPT OF NURSING STUDENTS IN SHIRAZ, IRAN

Aim: The study aimed to explore the professional self-concept of senior nursing students and evaluate its relationship with sex, age, clinical work experience, motivation for choosing nursing and average grade. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study based on the census method, professional self-concept of 70 senior nursing students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences was investigated. The data were collected using Cowin’s 36-item questionnaire of professional self-concept which measures nursing self-concept in six subscales. The data was analyzed using statistical indices such as frequency, mean, standard deviation, and independent t-tests and ANOVA statistical tests. A significant p-value was set at 0.05. Results: The mean of professional self-concept of students was 192.7144.85. There was a significant association between sex and interest in the nursing profession and professional self-concept, but the relationship between age, average grades and student clinical work experience and professional self-concept was not significant. Conclusion: The attitude of nursing students is greatly influenced by the image of nursing in the society, which makes them have low self-concept. Therefore, occupational and social support and counselling to the students can pave the way.