Altruism, honesty and religiosity in nursing students

Timmins, F; King, C; de Vries, JMA; Johnson, M; Cullen, JG; Haigh, C

Abstract

Background

Nursing is informed by values that guide care ethos and activities. Embodiment of these core values, has become a matter of concern. Reports outlining deficiencies in health care followed by polemics in nursing journals have called into question whether nursing students are sufficiently motivated by values and educated in their application. This paper explores these values among undergraduate nursing students in the Republic of Ireland. Considering the strong religious tradition in health care in Ireland, religiosity was also included.

Aims and objectives

The aims were to identify, at different stages of nursing education, the extent to which nursing students appreciate altruism, honesty, religiosity and other, sometimes contrasting, values in practice.

Design

A link to an on‐line survey was distributed via email to all nursing students in the thirteen Schools of Nursing in the Republic of Ireland.

Method

Quantitative data were collected using an adaptation of the Salford‐Scott (Johnson et al. 2007) Nursing Values Questionnaire.

Results

Participants (n=158) reported positively to statements related to honesty and altruism. Both Atruism and religiosity received support but the latter was to a lesser extent. Students considered their professionalism more important than altruism, and honesty varied according to the situation.

Conclusions

This study adds new information by confirming that students exhibit support for two of the most essential values in nursing: altruism and honesty. The adapted Salford‐Scott instrument has shown reliability and promise in further empirical study in nursing.

Citation

Timmins, F., King, C., de Vries, J., Johnson, M., Cullen, J., & Haigh, C. (2018). Altruism, honesty and religiosity in nursing students. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(19-20), 3687-3698. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14374

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 18, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2018
• Publication Date: Mar 31, 2018
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2018
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Nursing
• Print ISSN: 0962-1067
• Publisher: Wiley
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 19-20
• Pages: 3687-3698
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14374
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14374
• Related Public URLs: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652702