New and old professional groups in health care: formal re-definitions of the nursing profession and the internal qualities of professionals.
The aim of this study to identify dominant personal and professional values of current nursing professionals. The study was conducted among professional nurses who were working in 5 (out of 10) regional hospitals in Lithuania. According to rules of multi-stage (clustered and, following it, random) sampling, 1000 questionnaires were distributed, and 872 of them were returned filled out (response rate, 87.2%).


RESULTS
The statistically significant differences were determined while comparing the ranking of values of comfortable life, a world beauty, pleasure, and true friendship. In ranking the value of comfortable life, statistically significant differences were revealed comparing the second and fourth cohorts. While analyzing the evaluation of the instrumental values and their changes, some statistically significant differences within cohorts were determined. It was revealed that good salary was most related to professional activity, followed by social security, a chance of self-realization, and others. Career opportunities and innovative initiatives were the least important factors related to nursing work. The approach to professional activity differs depending on the generation.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates that a result of numerous formal re-definitions since the very beginning of 1990s, nursing has been developing as an independent profession in Lithuania very rapidly. However, notwithstanding expanded responsibilities of nurses and increased requirements for the professionals, there are no signs that the profession would be more empowered in the society and/or obtained higher status among medical professionals. In addition, in terms of internal qualities of the professionals, terminal, instrumental, and work-related values, which posses current Lithuanian nurses, are rather similar and very tenuously differ among generations.
Blazeviciene
Aurelija
A
Department of Nursing and Care, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eiveniu 2, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. blazeviciene@yahoo.com
Novelskaite
Aurelija
A
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005062:European Union; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008097:Lithuania; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012011:Red Cross / Q000266:history; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012579:Schools, Nursing / Q000266:history*; D012943:Social Security; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires