PROFESSIONALISM AMONG NURSE EDUCATORS TEACHING IN BACCALAUREATE NURSING PROGRAMS IN NEW JERSEY AND THE METROPOLITAN NEW YORK CITY AREA.
Contributors: Seton Hall University, School Of Education.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 294
Subjects: Education, Health.; Education, Higher.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This descriptive study investigated the degree of professionalism in full-time and part-time nurse educators teaching in baccalaureate programs, and the influence of specified behaviors on professionalism.

One hundred and seventy nurse faculty members (55 full-time tenured, 84 full-time untenured, and 31 part-time) in 20 baccalaureate degree programs in nursing in New Jersey and the metropolitan New York City area responded to the two-part survey instrument which included Hall's Professionalism Scale and a specifically designed Personal Inventory. Factor analysis of the Professionalism Scale resulted in each of the five dimensions being treated as a separate hypothesis. The Personal Inventory included four demographic factors and nine professional behaviors.

There were statistically significant relationships found between doctoral preparation and behaviors such as scholarly activities, ANA membership, and nursing consultation. Full-time tenured faculty, 58% of whom were doctorally prepared, had a higher professionalism score in the Autonomy dimension than full-time untenured faculty, 35% of whom were doctorally prepared ($p <$.000). Statistically significant relationships were also found between faculty status and teaching experience in baccalaureate programs, total teaching experience in nursing programs, current nursing practice in another agency, ANA membership, and participation in community activities.

Statistically significant relationships were found between individual professional dimensions and cumulative teaching experience; baccalaureate teaching experience; doctoral preparation; scholarly activities; certification in the teaching area; membership and activity in the ANA and in professional organizations other than the ANA; part-time nursing consultation; reading and subscribing to nursing journals; and reading health care journals. Faculty status could be predicted 73% of the time by the selected discriminating characteristics, but particularly by the number of years of teaching in baccalaureate nursing programs.

Findings indicated that professionalism as measured by Hall's Professionalism Scale was composed of independent constructs and that nurse educators who engaged in specific behaviors did not necessarily achieve high levels of professionalism in all dimensions of the scale. In addition, with the exception of the Autonomy dimension, there was no significant difference in levels of professionalism between full-time tenured, full-time untenured and part-time nurse faculty.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: A, page: 0437.

Thesis (ED.D.)--SETON HALL UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, 1988.

School code: 0869.