PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the status of caffeine-containing energy drink consumption among Korean nursing students and to identify associated psychological factors. METHODS: In total, 187 Korean nursing students participated in this cross-sectional study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to identify participants' general characteristics and psychosocial factors (self-esteem, academic stress, depression, and college adjustment) associated with energy drink consumption. Data were analyzed with SPSS using descriptive statistics, the χ² test, the t-test, and logistic regression. RESULTS: More than two-thirds (73.3%) of the participants had consumed energy drinks. Among the investigated psychological factors, depression appeared to most strongly influence energy drink consumption behaviors in this population. CONCLUSION: The consumption of caffeine-containing energy drinks was found to be common among nursing students preparing to become health care professionals; depressed nursing students were more likely to have consumed energy drinks than non-depressed students. Nursing educators should emphasize the early detection of unhealthy beverage consumption habits and provide appropriate education to enhance healthy behaviors in future health care professionals.
Beverages ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depression ; Education ; Energy Drinks* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nursing* ; Psychology* ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explain the experiences of Iranian nursing students regarding their clinical learning environment (CLE). METHODS: Twenty-one nursing students participated in this qualitative study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and analyzed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: Analysis of interviews identified six categories: educational confusion, absence of evaluation procedures, limited educational opportunities, inappropriate interactions with nursing staff, bullying culture, and discrimination. Systematic and consistent methods were not used in clinical education and evaluation of nursing students. In addition, there were inadequate interactions between nursing students and health-care staff, and most students experienced discrimination and bullying in clinical settings. CONCLUSION: Findings showed that the CLE of Iranian nursing students may be inadequate for high-level learning and safe and effective teaching. Addressing these challenges will require academic and practice partnerships to examine the systems affecting the CLE, and areas to be addressed are described in the six themes identified.
Bullying ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Iran ; Learning* ; Nursing Staff ; Nursing* ; Qualitative Research ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the effects of a communication empowerment program based on situated learning theory for nursing students. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. The study participants were 61 nursing students (31 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group) from G city. Data were collected from November 3, 2015 to December 10, 2015. The experimental group received eight sessions of the program, which were scheduled twice a week, with each session lasting two hours. The data were analyzed using chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and an independent t-test using SPSS/WIN 20.0. RESULTS: There were significant increases in self-efficacy for communication (t=2.62, p=.011), emotional intelligence (t=2.66, p=.010), and interpersonal communication competence (t=2.87, p=.006) in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings, our study suggests a need to include content from communication curricula or clinical communication training programs for improving undergraduate nursing students' communication skills in practice settings.
Curriculum ; Education ; Emotional Intelligence ; Humans ; Learning* ; Mental Competency ; Nursing* ; Power (Psychology)* ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to test a proposed structural equation model in which bullying experience, conflict management styles and psychological empowerment predict psychological well-being among Chinese nursing students in clinical placement. METHODS: Three hundred and sixty-six nursing students recruited from five hospitals in J city and Y city were assessed with self-report questionnaires on bullying experience, conflict management styles, psychological empowerment and psychological well-being including depression, self-esteem, and academic major satisfaction. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and AMOS version 22.0. RESULTS: The evaluation parameters included the comparative fit index at .90, the goodness of fit index at .93, the root mean square error of approximation at .07, and χ²/df ratio at 2.66, indicating that the proposed structural equation model provided a good fit to the data. Experience of being bullied during clinical placement, conflict management styles and psychological empowerment explained 93.0% of the variance and had significant effects on psychological well-being, with conflict management styles and psychological empowerment mediating the association between bullying and psychological well-being. CONCLUSION: The findings indicated that mediation by conflict management styles and psychological empowerment alleviated the negative influence of bullying on psychological well-being. To limit bullying and its negative effects, development of effective guidelines to deal with bullying will be a critical tool for both Chinese nursing students and their instructors. Further research should incorporate conflict management styles and psychological empowerment into the specific intervention strategies for handling bullying behaviors among nursing students and staff nurses and promoting nursing students' psychological well-being.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bullying* ; Depression ; Humans ; Negotiating ; Nursing* ; Personal Satisfaction ; Power (Psychology)* ; Self Concept ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to improve the quality of items on the Korean Nursing Licensing Examination by developing and evaluating case-based items that reflect integrated nursing knowledge. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study to develop new case-based items. The methods for developing test items included expert workshops, brainstorming, and verification of content validity. After a mock examination of undergraduate nursing students using the newly developed case-based items, we evaluated the appropriateness of the items through classical test theory and item response theory. RESULTS: A total of 50 case-based items were developed for the mock examination, and content validity was evaluated. The question items integrated 34 discrete elements of integrated nursing knowledge. The mock examination was taken by 741 baccalaureate students in their fourth year of study at 13 universities. Their average score on the mock examination was 57.4, and the examination showed a reliability of 0.40. According to classical test theory, the average level of item difficulty of the items was 57.4% (80%–100% for 12 items; 60%–80% for 13 items; and less than 60% for 25 items). The mean discrimination index was 0.19, and was above 0.30 for 11 items and 0.20 to 0.29 for 15 items. According to item response theory, the item discrimination parameter (in the logistic model) was none for 10 items (0.00), very low for 20 items (0.01 to 0.34), low for 12 items (0.35 to 0.64), moderate for 6 items (0.65 to 1.34), high for 1 item (1.35 to 1.69), and very high for 1 item (above 1.70). The item difficulty was very easy for 24 items (below −2.0), easy for 8 items (−2.0 to −0.5), medium for 6 items (−0.5 to 0.5), hard for 3 items (0.5 to 2.0), and very hard for 9 items (2.0 or above). The goodness-of-fit test in terms of the 2-parameter item response model between the range of 2.0 to 0.5 revealed that 12 items had an ideal correct answer rate. CONCLUSION: We surmised that the low reliability of the mock examination was influenced by the timing of the test for the examinees and the inappropriate difficulty of the items. Our study suggested a methodology for the development of future case-based items for the Korean Nursing Licensing Examination.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; Humans ; Licensure* ; Nursing* ; Observational Study ; Students, Nursing

PURPOSE: This study was done to describe the countertransference experience of nursing students in psychiatric nursing practice. METHODS: Data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 participants who were women nursing students. RESULTS: The core category was “narrowing mind distance with patients by exploring countertransference”. The countertransference experience process consisted of four sequential phases: exploring a countertransference, managing a countertransference, increasing understanding of patients, and establishing a trusting relationship. CONCLUSION: The results from the study contribute to promoting understanding of the countertransference experience of nursing students' during nursing practise and should be helpful in therapeutic communication competence education.
Countertransference (Psychology)* ; Education ; Female ; Grounded Theory ; Humans ; Mental Competency ; Nursing* ; Psychiatric Nursing* ; Students, Nursing*

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine effects of a learning portfolio by identifying the learning of nursing students taking a learning portfolio-utilized nursing management class. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 83 senior students taking the nursing management course in one of the Departments of Nursing at 2 Universities. Experimental group (n=42) received a learning portfolio-utilized nursing management class 15 times over 15 weeks (3 hours weekly). Self-directed learning abilities, approaches to learning and learning flow of the participants were examined with self-report structured questionnaires. Data were collected between September 2 and December 16, 2014, and were analyzed using chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent t-test and ANCOVA with SPSS/PC version 21.0. RESULTS: After the intervention the experimental group showed significant increases in self-directed learning abilities, deep approaches to learning and learning flow compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found between groups for surface approaches to learning. CONCLUSION: Learning activities using the learning portfolios could be effective in cultivating the learning competency for growth of knowledge, technology and professionalism by increasing personal concentration and organization ability of the nursing students so that they can react to the rapidly changing environment.
Adult ; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Personal Satisfaction ; *Problem-Based Learning ; Self Report ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the health behaviors of Turkish female baccalaureate nursing students and to examine the impact of sociodemographic and health-related factors and their mothers' health behaviors on the health behaviors of nursing students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 337 nursing students and 337 mothers. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires that included a personal information form, the Perception of Health Scale and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II). Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, Student's t test, Pearson's correlation coefficients and linear regression analysis were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The total HPLP-II mean score of the students was 131.98 ± 17.15 (item M = 2.61, SD = 0.33). Among the subscales of the HPLP-II, the spiritual growth had the highest mean subscale score, followed by the interpersonal relations subscale, while the physical activity had the lowest mean subscale score. Significant predictors of health behaviors of the students were school year (unstandardized β = .09, p < .012), total score for the Perception of Health Scale (unstandardized β = .02, p < .001), and the mothers' total HPLP-II score (unstandardized β = .33, p < .001), after controlling for specific variables. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the students who were attending the first-year program, those with higher levels of perceptions of health and those whose mothers had better health behaviors were more likely to have better health behaviors. The results of this study emphasize the importance of making culturally appropriate interventions by taking into account the factors contributing to the health behaviors of nursing students.
Adult ; Attitude to Health ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Exercise/*psychology ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; *Health Promotion ; Humans ; *Life Style ; Middle Aged ; Mothers/*psychology ; *Parent-Child Relations ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Turkey ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between vocational identity and ego identity status among Korean nursing students. METHODS: The participants were 311 nursing students in South Korea who were attending either a 4-year bachelor's program or a 3-year diploma program. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires that addressed vocational identity, ego identity status, and demographic information. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, t test, and Chi-square test. RESULTS: In terms of ego identity status, 31.5% of nursing students were classified as being in diffusion status, followed by 28.3% in low profile moratorium status, 14.8% in moratorium status, 14.1% in foreclosure status, and 11.3% in achievement status. Vocational identity differed according to ego identity status; vocational identity among students who were in achievement status was higher than for those in all other statuses. Vocational identity also differed according to grade level and monthly family income. Ego identity status was related to the type of program enrolled in, grade level, and monthly family income. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that nursing students in identity achievement status have secure and clear vocational identities. Further longitudinal and qualitative studies are needed to find out if identity formation among nursing students changes with age.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Career Choice ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Ego ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; *Self Concept ; Self Report ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey the current state of measles vaccination in university nursing students during a measles outbreak and to identify factors influencing nursing students' vaccination rate. METHODS: In 2014, this study used a self-administered questionnaire to survey 380 university nursing students. Factors influencing measles vaccination were identified through logistic regression analysis using variables between the vaccinated and nonvaccinated groups. RESULTS: Measles vaccination rate was 52.1%. The vaccination rate was significantly higher in juniors, seniors, and those who had heard about measles. In relation to health beliefs, the measles vaccination rate was higher when perceived benefits were high and perceived barriers were low. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic measles vaccination program targeting nursing students upon their entry to university is needed. In order to increase the measles vaccination rate, application of effective promotion campaigns and education programs is necessary.
Adult ; Disease Outbreaks/*prevention & control ; Female ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Immunization Programs/*statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Measles/*prevention & control ; Republic of Korea ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Universities ; Vaccination/*psychology ; Young Adult