Using an exploratory research method and a purposive sample of 259 subjects (109 of whom were nurses and 148 patients), data were collected using an instrument consisting of the elements of the nursing process. Four hypotheses were tested, using the analysis of covariance and the t-test The result of hypothesis I showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the perception of the quality of nursing care between the patients in the medical and surgical units of the five study hospitals. Hypothesis 2 indicated that there was no significant difference between nurses in the medical-surgical units in the areas of assessment, planning and implementation. However, a significant difference was found for accountability and responsibility. Further analysis using a t-test showed a significant difference between nurses in the medical and surgical units in the areas of accountability and responsibility. The data for hypothesis 3 and 4 yielded no significant difference in the perceptions of quality care by nurses according to work experience and by patients in all hospitals regardless of the patients' age and sex.

Using an exploratory research method and a purposive sample of 259 subjects (109 of whom were nurses and 148 patients), data were collected using an instrument consisting of the elements of the nursing process. Four hypotheses were tested, using the analysis of covariance and the t‐test The result of hypothesis I showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the perception of the quality of nursing care between the patients in the medical and surgical units of the five study hospitals. Hypothesis 2 indicated that there was no significant difference between nurses in the medical‐surgical units in the areas of assessment, planning and implementation. However, a significant difference was found for accountability and responsibility. Further analysis using a t‐test showed a significant difference between nurses in the medical and surgical units in the areas of accountability and responsibility. The data for hypothesis 3 and 4 yielded no significant difference in the perceptions of quality care by nurses according to work experience and by patients in all hospitals regardless of the patients’ age and sex.

Self‐image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse: a comparative study Congruity or lack of it between the perception of student and professional nurses about the self‐image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse was examined. The expectation was that as a result of the socialization processes involved in nursing education, the student nurse and the senior nursing professionals (who are the socializing agents) should not differ significantly on their ratings on the self‐image and job satisfaction of the Nigerian nurse. The subjects were 30 male and female student nurses and 23 male and female professional nurses who scored the Self‐image of the Nurse Scale (SINS) and the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS). The results showed that the student and the professional nurses were minimally differentiated in their perception of the self‐image of the Nigerian nurse. On the whole the student nurses were more dissatisfied with nursing than the professional nurses. The occupational position of the student nurse was said to have been partially responsible for the differences.

A self instructional unit (SIU) on nursing care plans was tested to demonstrate its effectiveness on the cognitive performance of three different student achievement groups. Two other text formats: Question Text Type (QTT) and Information Text Type (ITT) were utilized to demonstrate their effect on the cognitive performance of the three achievement groups. The expectation was that the SIU would successfully improve the subjects' knowledge on nursing care plans, and that the post test scores would be related to the text types used during the study. The subjects were 48 B.Sc. (Nursing) degree students in the first year of a post-basic nursing degree programme who were divided into high, middle and low achievement groups, according to the results of a pretest on the theory related to nursing care plans. The results showed that the SIU significantly improved the basic knowledge of subjects on nursing care plans. Furthermore, the SIU and the QTT appeared to be superior to the ITT formats. On the whole there appears to be a relationship between text type and cognitive performance whilst students try to accumulate or review information.

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