Perceptions of nursing image of nursing students and affecting factors in the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: This study investigated the perceptions of nursing image and the affecting factors in the COVID-19 pandemic of nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at two public universities in Turkiye that provide undergraduate nursing. The study sample consisted of 355 undergraduate nursing students. Data were collected between April and July 2020 using an online questionnaire, student information form, and image scale for the nursing profession. Results: The majority of the participants were women (78.6%). Participants had a mean age of 21.23 +/- 2.049. More than half the participants chose to pursue a career in nursing willingly (63.4%). Most participants were proud of being nursing students (85.4%). The majority of the participants stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had positively affected the image of nursing. Most participants noted that they were happy about the posts shared on social media platforms about nursing. Participants had a mean "Scale for the Image of Nursing Profession" score of 148.51 +/- 16.5. Gender and conscious choice of the nursing profession explained 6% of the total variance. Taking pride in being a nursing student explained 10% of the total variance (p<0.05). Conclusion: Nursing has a positive image in the eyes of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some variables (gender, conscious choice of the profession, and taking pride in being a nursing student) are significant predictors of the image of nursing in the eyes of nursing students.