Turkish Nursing Students' Use of Intuition

Background: The ability of intuition has a direct influence on the quality of patient care and outcomes in nursing practice. It is reported that integrating intuitional learning, which is accepted as a type of cognitive learning today, into nursing curriculum actively would be beneficial to training professional nurses. Objective: The current study aimed to explore the understanding of nursing students' use of intuition in clinical practice. Methodology: The study was carried out in a cross-sectional and descriptive design. The study population consisted of 588 nursing students enrolled at the Colleges of Nursing located in western Turkey. A total of 421 nursing students completed a questionnaire. The data of the study were collected employing the Use of Intuition by Nursing Students Scale (UINSS) and student information form. Statistical analyses were performed using percentages, means, standard deviation, independent sample t test, one-way ANOVA. Results: Mean age of the students was found to be 22.20±1.73 years, a great majority of them (83.1%) were female. Approximately half of the students (40.3%) were sophomores, one third of students were juniors (30.2%) and seniors (29.5%). The majority of the students (75.8%) stated that intuitive approach affects the decisionmaking process in nursing. Total UINSS mean score for nursing students was found to be 75.06 ± 1.26 (min:25max: 110). Senior students' were higher in physical awareness than sophomore and junior students. A statistically significant difference was found between total score, emotional awareness and physical awareness subscale and gender. Female students had higher total, emotional awareness and physical awareness scores than male students. Conclusions: It could be asserted that the students participated in the study had an awareness of the role of intuition at a higher than moderate level and that they were able to use this ability.