Autonomy Levels and Professional Attitudes of Nurse Educators

AIM: This study aimed to determine the autonomy levels and the professional attitudes of nurse educators. METHODS: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Total of 486 people, including 172 faculty members, 103 lecturers, and 211 research assistants were included in this study. The individual information form, Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale autonomy subscale, and the inventory of professional attitude at occupation were used to collect the research data. RESULTS: The mean age of academics participating in the study was 35.14±8.39. In total, 94.2% of them were women. Of the academics, 35.5% were faculty members, 21.2% were lecturers, and 43.4% were research assistants. The mean autonomy score was 80.04±15.69 and the mean score of the professional attitude inventory was 146±10.59. The mean autonomy score was found to be the highest among professors, the mean score of professional attitudes inventory was highest among associate professors, while the mean value of both scale scores was the lowest in research assistants. CONCLUSION: According to the research findings, it was concluded that the autonomy levels of the nurse educators were above average, their professionalism was at a high level, and they developed more professional attitude as the professional experience increased.