Description

The study integrated the qualities of nursing students (N=227) with their aptitude and academic achievement in a tripartite model. A battery of tests called in the Assessment for Nursing Potential (ANP) composed of the (a) Nursing Quality Scale (NQS) with factors on caring, compassion, commitment and connectedness; (b) Achievement test; and (c) Aptitude test was used in the study. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, the NQS was first administered followed by the aptitude, then the achievement tests. The effects of the nursing qualities on achievement and aptitude were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The first model indicates that nursing quality as a latent factor has no significant effects on both achievement and aptitude, obtaining a moderate goodness of fit (RMSEA=.09). However, when the same model was tested including the effect of aptitude on achievement, it resulted to a better fit (RMSEA=.06). In the second model, aptitude has a significant effect on achievement, p<.05. The model explains that attitudinal characteristics of nurses are independent of cognitive abilities such as their aptitude and achievement, and thus supports the belief that it is possible to integrate them in assessing nursing potential. Although effective nurses may possess the necessary characteristics such as caring, compassion, commitment, and connectedness, these quality traits do not affect their abilities.