The Views of Nursing Students on the Profession and Their Professional Motivation Levels in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: This study was carried out in order to determine the professional motivation levels of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to examine their professional motivation levels according to their personal characteristics and views on the profession during the pandemic. Method: The sample of this cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of 234 nursing students. The data were collected online using a questionnaire and the Motivation’s Sources and Problems Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 package program, independent-student t-test, one-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis. Results: During the pandemic, 80.3% of the students stated that the society's view of the nursing profession changed positively, 89.3% of them stated that the professional identity of the nursing profession was strengthened, and 78.6% of them wanted to work voluntarily if needed. The mean intrinsic motivation score of students was 48.07 (SD=6.58), the mean score of external motivation was 22.82 (SD=2.67), the mean score of negative motivation was 28.13 (SD=6.55), and the mean score of total professional motivation was 99.03 (SD=11.70). The motivation levels of the students who reported that the pandemic had a positive effect on the social status of the nursing profession, who thought that the professional identity of the nursing profession was strengthened during the pandemic, and who wanted to work voluntarily during pandemic were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that the students' levels of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and total professional motivation were high, while the level of negative motivation was moderate. It has been revealed that the pandemic has contributed positively to students' awareness of the role, value, and social responsibility of the nursing profession, as well as to their professional motivation.