An Examination of the Relationship between Fear of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in First Year Nursing Students and Their Attitudes to the Profession

This study was conducted with the aim of determining the fear of coronavirus (COVID-19) and attitudes to the profession in first year nursing students, and examining the relationship between them. The descriptive study was conducted in April and May 2021 with first year students at the Nursing Department of Bursa Uludağ University. The research sample consisted of 156 students who participated voluntarily in the study. A Student Description Form, a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fear Scale and an Attitude Scale for the Nursing Profession were used to collect research data. It was found that the nursing students included in the study had mean scores of 161.49±19.54 on the Attitude Scale for the Nursing Profession (ASNP) and 17.50±5.87 on the COVID-19 fear scale, and that there was a significant positive correlation between the two scores. The means scores on the ASNP and COVID-19 Fear Scale of female students and of students who experienced fear during the pandemic were significantly higher than those of other students (p<0.05). It was also determined that the attitude scores of students who had chosen the nursing department willingly were significantly higher than those of other students (p<0.05).