100: PROFESSIONAL VALUES OF THE NURSING STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVE: DO NURSING EDUCATION PREPARE STUDENTS FOR APPLYING OF PROFESSIONAL VALUES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Professional values of undergraduate nursing students are considerably to changes made by educational programs. Therefore, this is important to integrate professional values in nursing curricula and study about professional values of nursing students in applying them in their professional future. The aim of this study was to examine the professional values from perspective undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: This study was a descriptive-analytical research. A total of 100 undergraduate nursing students by stratified random sampling participated from a university in Kerman, Iran in 2016. Data were collected by Persian version of the Nurses Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) Weis and Schank. Data analyzed by SPSS version 19. RESULTS: The findings showed that student's mean score of professional values were high (101.79±12.42). The four most important professional values identified by students were maintaining confidentiality of patients, safeguarding patients' right to privacy, assuming responsibility for meeting health needs of the culturally diverse population, maintain competency in area of practice and accepting responsibility and accountability for own practice. The four least important values include participating in public policy decisions affecting distribution of resources, participating in peer review, recognizing role of professional nursing associations in shaping healthcare policy and participating in nursing research and/or implement research findings appropriate to practice. Score of values had statistically significant relationship with classroom grade average and economic status of family of students (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The high total score students' professional values could indicate impact of education and role of educators in formation and instillation of professional values in classrooms and clinical settings. Regarding low importance of some values for undergraduate nursing students, this is necessary to institutionalize comprehensive of professional values in nursing students as future nurses.