Factors Associated with Nursing Professionalism: Insights from Tertiary Care Center in India

BackgroundProfessionalism among nurses plays a critical role in ensuring patient safety and quality care and involves delivering competent, safe, and ethical care while also working with clients, families, communities, and healthcare teams.Aims and objectivesTo assess the level of nursing professionalism and the factors affecting professionalism among nurses working at a tertiary care center in India.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to March 2023 using a total enumeration sampling technique. Following institutional ethics committee approval, standardized tools were administered consisting of Nursing Professionalism Scale and socio-demographic, personal, and organizational characteristics.ResultsA total of 270 nurses participated, with a response rate of 93.7%. The mean age of the participants was 27.33 +/- 2.75 years, with the majority being female (82.6%) and belonged to the age group of 23-27 years (59.6%). More than half of the nurses exhibited high professionalism (53%), with the highest and lowest median scores for professional responsibility (29.0) and valuing human beings (13.0) respectively. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that, compared with their counterparts, nurses with a graduate nursing qualification (AOR = 4.77, 95% CI = 1.16-19.68), up-to-date training (AOR = 4.13, 95% CI = 1.88-9.06), and adequate career opportunity (AOR = 33.91, 95% CI = 14.48-79.39) had significant associations with high nursing professionalism.Conclusion/Implications for practiceThe majority of the nurses had high professionalism, particularly in the domains of professional responsibility and management. Hospitals and healthcare institutions can use these findings to develop policies and prioritize opportunities for nurses to attend conferences and workshops to enhance their professional values, ultimately leading to improved patient care outcomes.Patient and public contributionNo patient or public contribution. The study addresses the issue of nursing professionalism in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, emphasizing its crucial role in ensuring patient safety and quality care.More than half of the nurses reported having high levels of professionalism. Professional qualifications, up-to-date training, and career opportunities were identified as key factors associated with high nursing professionalism.The findings can serve as a foundation for developing policies and programs aimed at improving professionalism among nurses, with potential implications for patient outcomes.The emphasis on the significance of professional qualifications and up-to-date training suggests the need for continuous education and training programs to enhance nursing professionalism.