Socialization of R.N. to B.S.N.

ABSTRACT

The Nurse's Professional Orientation Scale and Schwirian's Six-Dimension Scale of Nursing Performance (Six-D Scale) were used in a five-year, longitudinal study of the professional socialization of the Registered Nurse/Bachelor of Nursing Science (RN/BSN) (n = 30) and generic baccalaureate students (n = 193) in a nursing program in the Southeast United States. Program exit socialization scores between RN/BSN and generic graduates were not significantly different. Using an ANCOVA, significantly higher socialization scores were found for the generic graduates. The scores for the RN/BSN graduates were significantly higher than the generic students at graduation on the teaching/collaboration, planning/evaluation and interpersonal communication subscales of the Six-D scale. When program entry Six-D subscales score were controlled, only the professional development subscale differentiated between RN/BSN and generic graduates. The program impact on the RN/BSN student/graduate as well as the means by which this process can be studied are questioned.