Professional Values of Licensed Practical Nurses and Time Post Initial Licensure: A Correlational Study

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the correlation between professional values of licensed practical nurses working in long term care settings and time post initial licensure. A quantitative non-experimental correlational research design was used to capture self-reports of professional values of licensed practical nurses then determine if and to what extent a relationship exists between professional values and time post initial licensure. The Nurses Professional Values Scale- Revised (NPVS-R) instrument was used to capture the professional values of 101 LPNs employed in long term care settings in Vermont and correlate the results with time post initial licensure. The NPVS-R, developed by Weis and Schank (2009), is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring professional nurses' values. The results indicate that LPNs who have been licensed 5-10 years have the highest professional values when compared to LPNs employed 1-4 years and greater than 10 years. The results also indicate, a negative correlation exists between all professional values of LPNs and time post initial licensure if the LPN is employed in a long- term care setting. Four of the twenty-six professional values statements were noted to be negatively correlated and statistically significant (p<0.05). This is the first study to use the NPVS-R to collect and measure the professional values of LPNs. This study’s findings may have significance for nursing education, nursing regulation and licensure, and employment of the LPN in long term care.