title: Nurses' reflections on good nurse traits: Implications for improving care quality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Good nurses show concern for patients by caring for them effectively and attentively to foster their well-being. However, nurses cannot be taught didactically to be "good" or any trait that characterizes a good nurse. Nurses' self-awareness of their role traits warrants further study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed (a) to develop a strategy to elicit nurses' self-exploration of the importance of good nurse traits and (b) to explore any discrepancies between such role traits perceived by nurses as ideally and actually important.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this mixed-method study, we used good nurse trait card play to trigger nurses' reflections based on clinical practice. Nurse participants appraised the ideal and actual importance of each trait using a Q-sort grid. The gap between the perceived ideal and actual importance of each trait was examined quantitatively, while trait-related clinical experiences were analyzed qualitatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 35 in-service nurses (mean age = 31.6 years (range = 23-49 years); 10.1 years of nursing experience (range = 1.5-20 years)) recruited from a teaching hospital in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the study site.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Good nurse trait card play with a Q-sort grid served as an icebreaker to help nurse participants talk about their experiences as embodied in good quality nursing care. Nurses' perceived role-trait discrepancies were divided into three categories: over-performed, least discrepant, and under-performed. The top over-performed trait was "obedience."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients' most valued traits ("patient," "responsible," "cautious," and "considerate") were perceived by participants as ideally important but were under-performed, perhaps due to experienced nurses' loss of idealism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Good nurse trait card play with Q-sort grid elicited nurses' self-dialogue and revealed evidence of the incongruity between nurses' perceived ideal and actual importance of traits. The top over-performed trait, "obedience," deserves more study.
authors.affiliation: Hung Kuang University, Taiwan, R.O.C. shuyueh@hk.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shu-Yueh
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Chung-Jen Junior College of Nursing, Health Sciences and Management, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Hui-Chen
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009732:Nursing Care; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Card play; good nurse traits; nurse; quality nursing care; reflection; role–trait discrepancy