Nursing student attitudes toward nursing profession and their state anxiety level during COVID-19 outbreak

INTRODUCTION: This study was designed to investigate nursing students’ attitudes toward the nursing profession and examine their state anxiety level during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
METHODS: The population for this descriptive research was Turkish university nursing students. The study sample con-sisted of 1653 nursing students who participated in the study between April 25 and May 10, 2020. The Attitude Scale for Nursing Profession (ASNP) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were used to collect the study data. The Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and the Spearman correlation test were used to evaluate the findings.
RESULTS: The mean score of the preference for the nursing profession (PNP) subscale of the ASNP was 51.13±8.61 and the mean score of the general attitude toward the nursing profession (GATNP) subscale score was 34.82±2.80. The mean STAI mean score was 43.95±11.17. There was a weak, negative relationship between the STAI and the PNP (r=-0.279) and the GATNP (r=-0.140) (p<0.05). The 2 most important predictors of state anxiety level were motivation to join the nursing profession and being a female (p<0.01).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The students who participated in the study reported a moderate state anxiety level. Mental health assessments of student nurses are recommended, as well as efforts to increase their psychological resilience and ability to cope with stress.