| Description |
This research study was conducted to determine if self-actualization, which is one of the goals of higher education and of the University of Utah College of Nursing, is being achieved or not, and to what extent. Senior students who are experiencing their last quarter in an undergraduate program could be expected to reflect an increase in the self-actualization attributes described by Maslow (1971), as a result of learning experiences which have emphasized development of potential, autonomous functioning, and concern for others. To determine if and to what extent self-actualization is being achieved by the senior students enrolled in the three senior courses. Psychosocial Nursing, Management of Patient Care, and Community Nursing, the following questions were raised to research the problem. The first question asked what the self-actualization levels of three groups of senior nursing students were at the following times: at the time of admission as sophomores, at the beginning of Spring Quarter of the senior year, and at the end of Spring Quarter of the senior year. The second question asked what differences in self-actualization occurred for the three groups of senior nursing students during the following times: from the beginning to the end of the Spring Quarter of the senior year, and from the time of admission as sophomores to the end of the Spring Quarter of the senior year. A sample of 55 senior students enrolled in three senior nursing courses at the University of Utah were administered the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) at the beginning and at the end of Spring Quarter, 1977. Fifty of these students had taken the POI on admission as sophomores. Each subject also filled out a Consent Form and a Self-Report Inventory consisting of demographic data including age, family situation and previous nursing experience, The three testing were statistically analyzed utilizing one-way analysis of-variance. Since the POI measures obtained at three different time periods were true repeated measures, correlated t-tests were also obtained to analyze the changes which occurred in each group. Admission and beginning of Spring Quarter scores were found to be comparable for students enrolled in all three courses. Statistically significant differences among groups were found only on the end of Spring Quarter testing. On the subscale of Self-Regard (Sr), mean scores of students registered in Management of Patient Care were significantly different (F = 4.820, p = < .01) from mean scores of students registered in Community Nursing. A comparison between beginning and end of Spring Quarter POI mean scores for each group and Total Subjects showed that end of Spring Quarter scores of the Psychosocial Group, the Community Group, and Total Subjects were significantly higher than beginning of Spring Quarter on several of the POI scales. A comparison between admission and end of Spring Quarter POI mean scores for each group and Total Subjects showed that end of Spring Quarter scores were significantly higher than admission scores on several of the POI scales. In general, students who participated in this study tended to have adequate levels of self-actualization at the time of admission as well as at the end of the Spring Quarter of the senior year and showed some significant improvements in self-actualization within the Spring Quarter of the senior year as well as from the time of admission to the end of the senior year. Recommendations for further study of self-actualization as it relates to nursing education and successful nursing practice were made. |
