Professional Relationship, Self-Concept and Health Promoting Life-Style Behaviours of Nursing Students: A Comparative Study conducted in an Institutional-Based Setting

This study aimed to compare nursing students’ professional relationships, self-concept, and health-promoting lifestyle behaviors at a nursing institution in Odisha, India.

A comparison study was undertaken among DRIEMS School of Nursing students in Cuttack, Odisha, in October–November 2023. Samples for the research comprise 250 undergraduate nursing students. The sampling procedure employed was the convenience method. The gathering of data was conducted via a Google Forms survey. The data collection instruments comprise four components: student socio-demographic variables comprise the first component; a structured scale for assessing professional relationships constitutes the second component; a nurse self-concept instrument constitutes the third component; and the health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP II) comprises the fourth component. Utilising SPSS 20 from IBM, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to the gathered data.

In this study, nursing students of all different classes have good professional relationships with their clinical instructors, their self-concept was also found to be good in all class students. Regarding health-promoting lifestyle practices almost all samples have average practices. The socio-demographic variables such as gender, socio-economic class, father’s educational status, and place of residence were significantly associated with the professional relationship. There was also a significant association between the educational status of father with nurses’ self concept of B. Sc (N) – II Year students. The research study revealed a mild positive correlation between professional relationships and nurses’ self-concepts, but conversely, a negative correlation between professional relationships and healthy lifestyle behavior was observed. Further analysis also identified a negative correlation between nurses’ self-concept and healthy lifestyle behavior. These findings highlight the significance of the role of professional relationships in shaping the self-concept of nurses and their lifestyle behavior.

Nursing students need to build strong relationships with clinical teachers to improve knowledge and develop a caring attitude. This leads to compassionate nurses who can provide quality care. As experience grows, self-concept improves, allowing excellence in nursing. Adopting healthy behaviors maintains well-being and reflects contemporary nursing standards.