Factors Influencing Nursing Professionalism on the Nursing Performance in Intensive Care Unit Nurses

Purpose: This study examined the degree of self-leadership, emotional intelligence, nursing professionalism, and nursing performance of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses, and aimed to identify factors influencing nursing performance. Methods: In this descriptive study, the study participants were 121 nurses with over 6 months of experience working at a tertiary general hospital in Seoul. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. Results: The average scores for self-leadership, emotional intelligence, nursing professionalism, and nursing performance were 3.66±0.40, 5.06±0.62, 3.59±0.37, and 3.11±0.29, respectively. In this study nursing performance showed statistically significant differences according to gender (t=2.39, p=.018), age (F=20.62, p<.001), marital status (t=-2.94, p=.004), educational background (t=-4.05, p<.001), total experience (F=11.95, p<.001), ICU experience (F=12.44, p<.001), and work department (F=3.33, p=.026). Self-leadership (r=.41, p<.001), emotional intelligence (r=.31, p<.001), and nursing professionalism (r=.24, p=.007) were positively correlated with nursing performance. Factors affecting nursing performance were ICU experience (β=-.42, p<.001), self-leadership (β=.30, p=.001), and emotional intelligence (β=.17, p=.046), with a total explanatory power of approximately 35%. Conclusion: ICU career experience, self-leadership, and emotional intelligence predicted higher nursing performance among ICU nurses.