The correlates of social determinants to ethico-moral values on professional development of Saudi nursing students

OBJECTIVES: This study determined the perceived professional values of nursing students, which are potentially correlated to their individual profiles. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional design using the Nurse Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) to determine nursing students' innate professional values. This study recruited 201 nursing students using a total enumeration sampling from Ha'il region, KSA. RESULTS: In the 26-item NPVS-R scale, item 1 was correlated to academic status at 0.01; item 3 was significantly correlated to gender at 0.01 and fluency in English at 0.01; item 4 was positively correlated to year level and fluency in English language at 0.00 and 0.0, respectively. Additionally, item 5 was found to be correlated to gender at 0.01; item 12 was correlated to gender at 0.01, year level (0.00), and fluency in English (0.01) and item 21 was correlated to gender and year level at 0.00 and 0.01, respectively. Finally, items 7, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 were significantly correlated with year level. The items with the highest correlations to the social determinants of the participants belonged to the values, justice and caring. Since nursing is a caring profession, these findings acknowledge that the values embodied by nursing students are critical. This reaffirms that nurses provide care with responsibility and accountability for its outcomes. CONCLUSION: In this study, the participants recognized the protection and safety of public health as the most significant professional value. Similarly, patient confidentiality and the active involvement of nurses in professional organizations was highly valued.