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INTRODUCTION: Understanding the emotional intelligence (EI) and self-esteem of Indian and Saudi nursing students is important because their future nurse-patient relationships may be influenced by factors related to their unique cultural contexts. Hence, this study sought to investigate the EI and self-esteem of nursing students in Saudi Arabia and India. METHODS: A descriptive-comparative research design was used to compare 660 nursing students from Saudi Arabia and India who were enrolled in the study from September 2022 to January 2023. Nursing students were recruited from University A in Riyadh and University B in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and from University C in India. RESULTS: The study found significant differences in EI scores based on year of study (p < .011), age (p < .024), residence (p < .005), and academic performance (p < .008). Students in later years, over 20 years old, from urban areas, and with good grades, had higher EI scores. Conversely, only age showed a significant difference in the self-esteem scores (p < .002). The year of study (p > .670), residence (p > .430), and academic performance (p > .526) did not significantly affect self-esteem. Finally, urban residence and good academic performance were significant predictors of EI (p < .005), while none of the demographics predicted self-esteem (p > .005). CONCLUSION: Higher emotional intelligence among nursing students can be associated with several variables, such as being in the higher years of study, older age, residing in an urban area, and good academic performance, whereas self-esteem appears to be hardly affected by these indicators but probably influenced by other aspects that were not measured. This implies that educators in relation to self-esteem should know the relationship between emotional intelligence and nursing practice besides healthcare establishments; they need to enhance their teaching methods so that learners can have more resilient attitudes towards work, provide quality patient care, and promote a better learning environment for nurses who will become stronger professionally in the future.
RESUMO
Background: Analyzing how nurses handle professionalism in their careers will help all concerned individuals identify areas of concern to develop and enhance further to achieve or maintain a high degree of professionalism. Objective: This study aimed to determine the level of professionalism among nurses and its differences according to socio-demographic characteristics. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional approach was utilized in three significant regions of Saudi Arabia. A simple random sampling technique was employed with 305 respondents, resulting in a 95.9% response rate. A Google Form survey was used to collect the data between January and April 2021. Results: Nurses perceived themselves highly in professional organization (Mean = 3.94, SD = 0.17), belief in public service (Mean = 3.91, SD = 0.22), belief in self-regulation (Mean = 3.97, SD = 0.08), sense of calling (Mean = 4.01, SD = 0.13), and belief in autonomy (Mean = 3.71, SD = 0.15). There was no significant difference between gender and professional organization, belief in public service, self-regulation, or belief in autonomy. Still, there was a significant difference in belief in public service (t = 2.794; p = 0.006) and sense of calling (t = 4.290; p = 0.001). As to age, only belief in self-regulation was significant (t = 5.984; p = 0.003). Moreover, the educational qualifications reached an insignificant difference in professionalism. Conversely, the type of facility has been found to have reached significant differences with a professional organization (F = 3.057; p = 0.029), belief in public service (F = 4.130; p = 0.007), beliefs in regulation (F = 3.452; p = 0.017), sense of calling (F = 3.211; p = 0.023), and belief in autonomy (F = 5.995; p = 0.001). Lastly, the current position found no significant difference in professionalism. Conclusion: Nurses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia perceived themselves as highly professional, and male nurses were found to have a sense of calling more than their female counterparts. Age, educational qualification, and current position had no significant difference in professionalism. Conversely, the type of facility had a significant difference with the belief in autonomy. These findings support and sustain the role of nurses in this 21st-century health care that is significantly needed to provide the most quality care.
