SELF-ACTUALIZATION OF NURSING STUDENTS RESULTING FROM A COURSE IN PSYCHIATRIC NURSING

In Personal Orientation Inventory (POI) (Shostrom, 1964, 1966) tests given to 39 senior diploma nursing students before and after their psychiatric nursing course, the students showed significant improvement on the Inner-Directedness factor, but only slight improvement on the Time-Competence factor following the course. The other 10 categories of the POI also registered an improvement following the course, which led the authors to conclude that observed personality changes which occur during a psychiatric nursing course can be identified and measured. Factors in the course which led to the personality changes, as well as implications for nursing practice, are discussed.