Values and professional role perceptions of nursing students: cross-sectional survey in Turkey and Lithuania

Values are conceived as guiding principles in life which transcend specific situations, may change over time, guide selection of behaviour and events, and are part of a dynamic system with inherent contradictions. A well-developed value system helps nurses find solutions to ethical dilemmas. Objectives. This study identifies the values and professional role perceptions among Turkish and Lithuanian nursing students, who come from different cultural backgrounds. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational design was applied in this study. A crosssectional survey was based on the Rokeach Value Survey and Nursing Role Perception Questionnaire. Surveys were conducted at the Acıbadem University and the Lithuanian University of Health Science. The participants were students of the nursing programme. The study was approved by the Bioethics Centre at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and an ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Acıbadem University Results. Study results revealed statistically significant differences between priorities of instrumental and terminal values in both countries. An analysis of average factor scores indicates that the average score of the first factor Breadth of Professional Outlook and the sixth factor Level of Rapport with Patients and Colleagues were statistically significantly higher among the Lithuanian nursing students compared with the Turkish nursing students. Conclusion. Lithuanian and Turkish students of nursing programmes emphasised the importance of such values as family security, tranquillity and freedom and had different perceptions about the nurse’s role in health care