Discussion: Stereotyped Viewpoint
Nursing students in a 4-year baccalaureate course were recruited from two universities in central Taiwan. All participating students had completed their obstetrical nursing training within the pre- vious 12-month period. After permission from the uni- versity’s administration to conduct the study, purposes and procedures were explained to participants. All par- ticipants gave their informed consent and understood how data would be kept confidential, how their anonymity would be assured, and the fact that they had the right to withdraw from the research at any time without aiïecting their school record.
Questionnaires were then distributed to the 151 fe- male nurses and 59 male nurses who had agreed to participate in this research. A total of 210 copies of the questionnaires were distributed, and 155 questionnaires were returned. Five questionnaires were not used because they were incomplete, so the analysis was based on 150 questionnaires (valid response rate = 71.4%). In compar- ing demographic data between students who returned and those who did not return the questionnaire, we found no significant differences in terms of gender, age, grade, or marital status (p > .05).
Measures A three-part structured questionnaire was used to
collect data. Part 1 consisted of demographic character- istics, which included age, grade, marital status, degree of interest in nursing, and degree of willingness to take a position in the nursing profession after graduation.
Part 2 consisted of questions about personal attitudes inftuencing student thinking. Questions were developed from the literature and the authors’ professional experi- ences (including Chung, 1994; Sherrod, 1989; Tzeng, 1996, 1997). A 5-point Likert-type scale was used in each of the following four headings scores equated to high negativity: (a) attitude toward the clinical instructors, for example, “I think the instructor cannot provide the as- sistance I need”; (b) attitude toward healthcare providers, such as, “I think healthcare providers are unwilling to support my care of the parturient”; (c) attitude toward clients and their families, such as, “I feel it is more difficult to take care of the parturient and her family than
other patients”; and (d) attitude toward a stereotyped viewpoint about gender role and occupation, such as, “I consider nursing as a female profession.”
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