NURSING STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF NURSE ROLE MODELS AND EFFECTIVE ROLE MODEL CHARACTERISTICS IN NURSING FACULTY.
Contributors: North Carolina State University.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 114
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to identify what behavioral characteristics new nursing graduates associate with their most effective and least effective role models. The study further explored the identification of a role model during the nursing education program and the behavioral characteristics thought to be important in a role model. Utilizing role theory, and in particular socialization and role modeling, the relationships of identified role models and perceived role model characteristic behaviors were investigated. A theoretical model was designed to illustrate the relationship of perceived competency in these faculty behaviors and the level of professional socialization of the student.

The collection of data was based on completed questionnaires returned by 465 new graduates. The statistical techniques used to analyze the data included analysis of variance, Student's t, and Chi-Square "Goodness-of-Fit." The analyses indicated the following conclusions: (1) There was a significant difference between the behavioral characteristics of the most effective role models and those of the least effective role models as determined by new graduates based on their experiences. The significant differences were valid for overall behavior as well as for each of the ten specified behavioral characteristics. (2) New graduates rated the ten specified behavioral characteristics significantly higher than the criterion value of the rating scale mean. Based on ranking by the means, nine of the characteristics had a high degree of importance. (3) There was a significant difference in the responses of new graduates identifying the person who should serve as the role model for nursing students. The category of "instructor" received the highest number of responses. (4) There was a significant difference in the responses of new graduates identifying the person who actually serves as the role model for nursing students. Although the category of instructor received the highest number of responses, the diversity of responses among the categories indicated the dilemma facing students when trying to identify role models. (5) There was a significant difference in the responses of new graduates identifying the person who was their primary role model. The category of instructor received the highest number of responses.

Implications for nursing and nursing education were identified and discussed.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: A, page: 0568.

Thesis (ED.D.)--NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY, 1987.

School code: 0155.