title: Comparison of professional values between nursing students in Taiwan and China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  People in both Taiwan and China originally descended from the Han Chinese, but the societies have been separated for approximately 38 years. Due to different political systems, variations exist in healthcare and nursing education systems in Taiwan and China.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine the professional values of nursing students in Taiwan and China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional design was applied in this study. The Nursing Professional Value Scale-Revised was used to measure the professional values of the students. The questionnaire was distributed to eligible undergraduate students in a classroom setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the first investigator's university. Participants were informed that completion and return of the questionnaire was voluntary, and confidentiality was ensured by keeping the responses anonymous.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample included 292 Taiwanese students and 654 Chinese students.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 11 individual Nursing Professional Value Scale-Revised items showed significant differences between the two groups. These results reflect the differences in the perceived importance of these items between the groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the mean overall scores for the Nursing Professional Value Scale-Revised (p = .766) and three subscales (all p > .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are some differences in professional values between nursing students in Taiwan and China. Given the increasingly frequent and close interactions between Taiwan and China and the globalization of nursing, understanding these differences may help nursing educators identify students' perceptions of their professional values and support the development of strategies to improve weaknesses in professional values.
authors.affiliation: I-Shou University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China cherrygo10@163.com.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Shu-Te University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Show-Ing
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.affiliation: I-Shou University, TaiwanHuazhong University of Science & Technology, ChinaShu-Te University, TaiwanI-Shou University, TaiwanNational Tainan Junior College of Nursing, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Chan
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: I-Shou University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: National Tainan Junior College of Nursing, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Ling
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000068616:Professionalism; D012945:Social Values; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; Taiwan; nursing student; professional values