Professional practice attributes among nurse educators

Abstract

Ethical practice is a key component of professionalism and needs to be instilled in curricula across courses. Nurse educators should act with honesty and integrity to maintain high standards of ethics and professional behaviour. The aim of the study was to assess the professional practice attributes among nurse educators. Cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 343 nurse educators from various nursing colleges of three conveniently selected northern states of India using maximum variation sampling. A five point likert scale was developed to measure the professional practice attributes of study subjects. The overall professional practice attributes were rated high by the subjects with the mean percentage score of 85.64% (Mean SD of 145.6±21.80). Different professional practice attributes among the subjects were the spirit of inquiry (88%), accountability and autonomy (87.76%), knowledge (87.75%), collegiality and collaboration (87.15%), ethics and values (86.72%), advocacy (83.56%), citizenship and professional engagement (82.60%) and innovation and visionary (81.40%). There was no significant difference among nurse educators from different states in terms of, professional practice attributes (P=0.25). The study concluded that overall professional practice attributes among nurse educators was high which is indicative of professionalism among nurse educators. Statutory and professional nursing bodies should initiate steps to facilitate environment conducive for the enhancement of professionalism among the nurse educators.