ABSTRACT
Are characteristics of the practice setting that best support professional nursing practice and allow baccalaureate and higher degree nurses to practice to their full potential, and assist nursing students educated at the baccalaureate level and above to make the best decision regarding where to practice following graduation. This study aimed to assess Hallmarks of the Professional Nursing Practice Environment as perceived by Bachelor Undergraduate Nursing students, Nurse Interns and nursing staff working/training at Main University hospital, Alexandria University, and conducted at Alexandria Main University hospital, on 336 nurse students, interns and staff nurses from those meeting the inclusion criteria and were available during data collection period. "Hallmarks of the professional nursing practice envtronment questionnaire developed by American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN 2001] was used to collect data. The study main findings were that the subjects' perception for Hallmarks of the professional nursing practice environment was below the acceptable level, however, above the average. Nurse Interns tended to have significantly higher perception for all hallmarks; while staff nurses as well as nurse students tended to have the lowest one. Age and years of experience of the staff nurses were found to be not affecting nurses' perception. Diploma nurses were found to perceive hallmarks more significantly as compared to bachelor nurses, Finally, the overall perception of staff nurses working in special care units was high in comparison to those working in the general wards