Abstract

Increasing diversity in the nursing workforce is a national priority to better care for a diverse patient population and minimize healthcare disparities. Nurse educators teach students to practice with compassion and respect, recognizing the dignity, worth, individual choice, and unique attributes of all patients. Perceptions of nursing professionalism are heavily influenced by appearance. Many nursing programs restrict visible body art in their dress code policies based on long-held notions and negative stereotypes of individuals with body art. Shouldn't nursing students who choose to have body art receive the same respect and lack of judgment? A better understanding of nurse educators' and students' perceptions of body art is needed. In this study, the Nunes Body Art and Professionalism in Nursing Survey tool was evaluated, with CVI scores demonstrating clarity and conciseness, allowing for the exploration of the perceptions of nurse educators and nursing students regarding professionalism and body art. Survey results reveal positive perceptions of visible body art regarding nursing professionalism, a change from what is demonstrated in the literature review. This study is the first step, with future research presenting an opportunity for collaboration among schools of nursing and healthcare organizations to develop standards of professionalism that recognize and support a diverse nursing workforce and align expectations for what is permissible in nursing school and the workplace.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 30528261; ProQuest document ID: 2833525805. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Deana M. Nunes, EdD, MSN, BS, CWCN

Sigma Membership

Beta Zeta at-Large

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Other

Research Approach

Quantitative Research

Keywords:

Body Art, Dress Codes, Nursing Professionalism, Nurse Educators, Conciseness

Advisor

Kimberly Lacey

Second Advisor

Barbara Aronson

Third Advisor

Maryann Glendon

Degree

Doctoral-Other

Degree Grantor

Southern Connecticut State University

Degree Year

2022

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2024-07-26

Full Text of Presentation

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