The research described in this article was a descriptive study for determining the relationship between the degree of burnout experienced by nurses working in Kocaeli (Turkey), and their personal and professional values. A questionnaire was developed by using information gained from the literature on this subject and from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The questionnaire was delivered to nurses working in two different hospitals (State Hospital of I.zmit and the Gölçük Sea Hospital) in Kocaeli. The sample group was formed from all (...) nurses working in the two hospitals, of whom 160 participated in the study during December 1999 and January 2000. The results showed that nurses’ personal and professional values play an important role in the degree of burnout they experience. Equality, altruism and aesthetics were ranked first by those experiencing high levels of emotional exhaustion, and freedom was a priority value for those with a low degree of emotional exhaustion. Freedom, altruism and truth were ranked first by those with prominent feelings of personal accomplishment, and equality and aesthetics were priority values for those with less feeling of personal accomplishment. All nurses, therefore, need to identify and clarify their own personal values, beliefs and assumptions about basic truths. (shrink)

Patient advocacy has been claimed as a new role for professional nurses and many codes of ethics for nurses state that they act as patient advocates. Nursing education is faced with the challenge of preparing nurses for this role. In this article we describe the results of a study that considered the tendencies of a cohort of nursing students at the Kocaeli University School of Nursing to act as advocates and to respect patients’ rights, and how their capacities to do (...) so changed (or not) as a result of their nursing education. This longitudinal study used a questionnaire consisting of 10 statements relating to patient care. It was performed both at the start (1998) and at the end (2002) of the nursing training. At the beginning of their course 77 students participated; in the study. After four years, only 55 students participated, the reason for this drop in number being unknown. The questions asked nurses if patients should have: the right to receive health care; the right to participate in the decision-making process about their treatment; the right always to be told the truth; and the right to have access to their own medical records. They were also asked: if quality of life should be a criterion for discontinuing treatment; if patients have the right to die and the right to refuse treatment; if patients should be assisted to die or helped to undergo active euthanasia; and if severely disabled newborn babies should be allowed to die. The student nurses demonstrated considerable insight into contemporary nursing issues and were ready to act as patient advocates. Professional responsibility demands that good nurses advocate strongly for patients’ choices. (shrink)