Abstract
Background
Nursing professional socialization significantly influences the sustainable development of nursing students’ careers. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of research on the factors that influence nursing professional socialization in nursing education. This study aims to examine the factors that influence professional socialization in nursing students. The study adopts a multigroup approach for comparison between female and male subsamples.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional, quantitative study of a sample of 108 nursing students (80 females and 28 males). The Simulation Learning Effectiveness Scale, Caring Assessment Report Evaluation Q-sort, Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, and Holistic Nursing Competence Scale were used to collect the data on the independent variables. The Team Skills Scale, Nursing Image as a Profession questionnaire, and Nursing Professional Commitment Scale were used to assess the level of students’ nursing professional socialization, which is an outcome construct variable. A multigroup analysis with partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and to examine the professional socialization research model.
Results
The full model findings show that individual learning effectiveness had a significantly positive effect on nursing students’ caring behavior (ß = 0.47, p < .001) and on self-reflection and insight (ß = 0.32, p < 0.1). In addition, caring behavior (ß = 0.64, p < .001) and self-reflection and insight (ß = 0.29, p < .001) had a significantly positive effect on nursing competence. Finally, nursing competence also had a significantly positive effect on nursing professional socialization (ß = 0.61, p < .001). Overall, all independent variables were significant predictors of nursing professional socialization, explaining 36.7% of the variance in the integrated model of professional socialization. In addition, a permutation test revealed no differences in the two comparisons’ path coefficient estimates in the model (female vs. male).
Conclusion
The findings reveal that the result of an all-path coefficient parametric on the professional socialization model does not differ by gender. Therefore, for both female and male students, it is important to further strengthen nursing students’ self-learning effectiveness to promote their self-reflection and caring behavior. Increasing students’ nursing competence is a key factor in improving their professional socialization.