ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in the perceived importance and frequency of nurse role behaviors for medical and surgical nurses and to examine the relationship between perceived importance and frequency of nurse role behaviors in the two groups. METHOD: A descriptive design was used with convenience sampling of 351 medical and surgical nurses in the 40 hospitals with over 500 beds. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: 1) The total score for perceived importance of nurse role behaviors was 4.09+/-.53 for medical nurses and 4.13+/-.53 for surgical nurses. 2) The total score for frequency was 3.15+/-.54 for medical nurses and 3.24+/-.56 for surgical nurses. 3) The perceived importance of nurse role behaviors was higher than the frequency, but the difference between two groups was not significant. 4) The perceived importance of nurse role behaviors was highly correlated with frequency (r=.579, p=.000) for the two groups. CONCLUSION: Medical and surgical nurses perceived the importance nurse role behavior but the frequency of the behavior is lower. Therefore, further research is needed to develop strategies to increase the frequency of nurse role behaviors.