Promotion of self-directed learning abilities among Chinese medical students through preparing for career calling and enhancing teaching competencies in medical education: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Medical students face a heavy burden as they are tasked with acquiring a vast amount of medical knowledge within a limited time frame. Self-directed learning (SDL) has become crucial for efficient and ongoing learning among medical students. However, effective ways to foster SDL ability among Chinese medical students are lacking, and limited studies have identified factors that impact the SDL ability of medical students. This makes it challenging for educators to develop targeted strategies to improve students' SDL ability. This study aims to assess SDL ability among Chinese medical students and examine the effects of career calling and teaching competencies on SDL ability, as well as the possible mechanisms linking them.

METHODS

Data were collected from 3614 respondents (effective response rate = 60.11%) using cross-sectional online questionnaires and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0. The questionnaire comprised a Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, Self-directed Learning Ability Scale (Cronbach's alpha = 0.962), Teaching Competencies Scale, and Career Calling Scale.

RESULTS

The average SDL ability score of Chinese medical students was 3.68 ± 0.56, indicating a moderate level of SDL ability. The six factors of the Self-directed Learning Ability Scale-self-reflection, ability to use learning methods, ability to set study plans, ability to set studying objectives, ability to adjust psychological state, and willpower in studying-accounted for 12.90%, 12.89%, 12.39%, 11.94%, 11.34%, and 8.67% of the variance, respectively. Furthermore, career calling was positively associated with SDL learning ability (β = 0.295, p < 0.001), and SDL learning ability was positively associated with teaching competencies (β = 0.191, p < 0.01). Simple slope analysis showed that when the level of teaching competencies was higher, the influence of career calling on SDL ability was stronger.

CONCLUSIONS

Chinese medical students' SDL ability has room for improvement. Medical students could strengthen their willpower in studying by setting milestones goals with rewards, which could inspire their motivation for the next goals. Teachers should guide students to learn experience to improve students' reflective ability. Educators play a crucial role in bridging the gap between career calling education and SDL ability enhancement, highlighting the significance of optimal teaching competencies. Colleges should focus on strengthening teachers' sense of career calling and teaching competencies.

Missed Nursing Care as a Mediator in the Relationship between Career Calling and Turnover Intention

AIM

To explore the role of missed nursing care in mediating the relationship between career calling and intention to leave among nurses.

INTRODUCTION

Increasing nurse turnover is still a major concern in the global healthcare system. The most reliable indicator of turnover is turnover intention. It is crucial to understand its affecting elements to suggest measures to lower nurses' turnover intention.

BACKGROUND

Turnover intention has been linked to career calling and missed nursing care. Little empirical research has investigated the possibility that missed nursing care mediates between career calling and turnover intention.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey of 347 nurses was conducted. The survey instruments included the General Information Questionnaire, Calling Scale, Missed Nursing Care Scale and Turnover Intention Questionnaire. Structural equation models were used to build the model. This study made use of the STROBE checklist.

RESULTS

For 43.8% of nurses, turnover intention was high or very high. Missed nursing care and turnover intention were negatively correlated with career calling. Missed nursing care and turnover intention were positively related. Missed nursing care mediated the relationship between career calling and turnover intention.

DISCUSSION

Career calling and missed nursing care can both influence turnover intention. Career calling can reduce the likelihood of turnover by preventing missed nursing care.

CONCLUSION

Missed nursing care mediated the relationship between career calling and intention to leave.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND NURSING POLICY

Nursing managers should improve nurses' career calling through professional education and minimize missed nursing care by using electronic nursing reminder devices to reduce turnover intention.

Does the presence of calling relate to career success? The role of strengths use and deficit correction among nurses

BACKGROUND

The presence of calling has been associated with beneficial outcomes for nurses, yet our understanding of these effects remains limited. Additionally, the mechanisms linking the presence of calling to these outcomes have not been well established in the nursing literature.

AIM

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the presence of calling and nurses' career success, mediated by the parallel effects of strengths use and deficit correction.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design was used.

METHODS

Data were collected from December 2022 to April 2023, involving 237 nurses working in six hospitals in Port Said, Egypt. The study utilized the Demographic Information Form, the Presence of Calling Scale, the Strengths Use Scale, the Deficit Correction Scale, and the Career Success Scale. Study hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Presence of calling positively related to nurses' career success. Furthermore, nurses' strengths use and deficit correction played a mediating role in the relationship between the presence of calling and career success.

CONCLUSION

Nurses who view their work as a calling are more inclined to utilize their strengths and address their deficits, resulting in a heightened sense of career success.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING POLICYMAKING

Emphasising that nursing is a calling should commence during the undergraduate education of nurses, and this concept should be continually cultivated by hospital administrators throughout their professional careers. This approach empowers nurses to leverage their strengths, address their deficits, and ultimately enhance their sense of success in their nursing careers.

Job stressors and burnout among clinical nurses: a moderated mediation model of need for recovery and career calling

BACKGROUND

Burnout is a major concern in healthcare professions. Although theory and empirical evidence support the relationship between job stressors and burnout, the question remains how and when the job stressors are related to burnout. Based on conservation of resources theory and effort recovery model, the current study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the effect of job stressors on burnout by investigating the mediating role of need for recovery and the moderating role of career calling.

METHODS

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 709 nurses enrolled from eight public hospitals in China. The Work Stressors Scale, Psychological Detachment Scale, Brief Calling Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to collect data. Hierarchical regression analysis with bootstrapping procedure was performed to test the proposed model.

RESULTS

The results showed that need for recovery mediated the job stressors-burnout relationship, and that high career calling buffered against the relationships between job stressors and need for recovery and burnout. Furthermore, the result revealed a moderated mediation model that career calling buffered the indirect effect of job stressors on burnout through need for recovery.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that environmental demands and personal resource are important antecedents of nurses' burnout. Career calling as personal resources can serve as a protective factor that guards against burnout. Thus, nursing managers can reduce nurse burnout by focusing on effective strategies related to recovery experiences, as well as investing in training career calling.

Association between hopelessness and job burnout among Chinese nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic: The mediating role of career calling and the moderating role of social isolation

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased workload and work pressure on nurses owing to the unpredictable changes during this challenging situation. Herein, we explored the relationship between hopelessness and job burnout in nurses working in China against the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study involving 1216 nurses in two hospitals in Anhui Province. The data was collected using an online survey. The mediation and moderation model was constructed, and the data was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS macro software.

Results

Our results showed that the nurses had an average job burnout score of 1.75 ± 0.85. Further analysis revealed a negative correlation between hopelessness and career calling (r = -0.551, P < 0.01) and a positive correlation between hopelessness and job burnout (r = 0.133, P < 0.01). Additionally, a negative correlation was demonstrated between career calling and job burnout (r = -0.138, P < 0.01). Moreover, career calling strongly mediated (by 40.9%) the relationship between hopelessness and job burnout in the nurses. Finally, social isolation in the nurses was a moderating factor for the association between hopelessness and job burnout (β = 0.028, t = 2.851, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Burnout severity in nurses increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Career calling mediated the relationship between hopelessness and burnout, with greater burnout levels in nurses who experienced social isolation. Therefore, we suggest that job burnout in nurses can be improved by mitigating the effects of hopelessness and social isolation through psychological interventions and enhancing their sense of career calling through education to strengthen their professional identity.

Surface acting, emotional exhaustion, career calling and turnover intention among student nurses: A cross-sectional study

AIM

This study aims to explore the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of career calling in the linkage of surface acting and turnover intention among student nurses in the final clinical practicum.

BACKGROUND

Turnover rates are especially high for graduating nursing students. Surface acting is considered an important factor that affects this rate among nurses. However, little is known about the relationships between surface acting and turnover intentions among graduating nursing students in the final clinical practicum.

DESIGN

The current research is a cross-sectional study, and the data were collected from 8 January 2022-22 January 2022.

METHODS

A survey was completed by 275 graduating nursing students. This survey included Chinese translations of scales measuring surface acting, emotional exhaustion, career calling and turnover intentions.

RESULTS

Both surface acting (r = 0.47, p < 0.001) and emotional exhaustion (r = 0.59, p < 0.001) correlated positively with turnover intentions. Both surface acting (r = -0.41, p < 0.001) and emotional exhaustion (r = -0.62, p < 0.001) correlated negatively with career calling and career calling (r = -0.72, p < 0.001) correlated negatively with turnover intentions. The association between surface acting and turnover intention was mediated by emotional exhaustion. In addition, career calling moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion.

CONCLUSIONS

Surface acting results in higher emotional exhaustion and higher turnover intention among graduating nursing students, which was more pronounced among nursing students with a lower sense of career calling.

[A study of the relationships between occupational stress career calling and occupational burnout among primary teachers]

Objective: To discuss the relationships between occupational stress, career calling and occupational burnout among primary school teachers, and test whether career calling moderates the relationship between occupational stress and occupational burnout. Methods: 399 teachers from public primary schools were recruited as participant. Their occupational stress and burnout, and career calling were assessed via online questionnaire in the period between March and August 2018. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the moderating role of career calling. Results: The score of occupational stress was (3.59±0.85) , the score of career calling was (3.15±0.69) and the score of occupational was (3.26±0.88) . Occupational stress was significantly and positively related to occupational burnout (r=0.42, P<0.01) , while career calling was significantly and negatively related to occupational stress (r=-0.30, P<0.01) and occupational burnout (r=-0.32, P<0.01) . Career calling moderated the relationship between occupational stress and occupational burnout. Conclusion: Career calling as a personal resource buffers the positive relationship between occupational stress and occupational burnout. School leaders can promote teachers' career calling by endowing educational work with more meaning, which leading to lower level of occupational burnout.

A cross-sectional study of job burnout, psychological attachment, and the career calling of Chinese doctors

Background

The main objectives of this study were as follows: (1) evaluate the prevalence of burnout syndrome among doctors, (2) establish associations with demographic factors in China, and (3) examine the mediating role of psychological attachment in the relationship between job burnout and career calling.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey was conducted by administering an online questionnaire in May 2016. The survey was performed across Thirty provinces. In total, A total of 3016 Chinese doctors were selected as participants, of which 2617 completed valid questionnaires (effective response rate: 86.77%).

Results

The overall prevalence of burnout symptoms among Chinese doctors was 85.79%. Little variance was reported for burnout symptoms according to age (Waldχ² = 6.843, P < 0.05, OR < 1), professional title (Waldχ² = 13.110, P < 0.05, OR > 1), and daily working hours (Waldχ² = 7.226, P < 0.05, OR > 1). However, the burnout of Chinese doctors was found to be associated with psychological attachment (B = − 0.6433, P < 0.0001) and career calling (B = 0.3653, P < 0.0001); furthermore, psychological attachment (B = 0.2350, P < 0.001) mediated the relationship between job burnout and career calling.

Conclusion

Burnout symptoms among Chinese doctors were prevalent and associated with age, professional title, and long working hours. Chinese doctors aged 20–30 experienced a much higher level of burnout symptoms. The longer hours doctors worked, the more likely they were at risk of burnout symptoms, especially among attending physicians. Doctors who endured high-level burnout tended to exhibit decreasing psychological attachment, which threatened their sense of career calling. Finally, this paper proposed related explanations for the function mechanisms based on both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Career Calling and Job Satisfaction in Army Officers: A Multiple Mediating Model Analysis

This study focuses on the relationships of career calling to job satisfaction in army officers. The direct and indirect (via meaning in life and meaning in work) effects of career calling on job satisfaction were investigated in 355 male army officers in China. For this purpose, structural equation modeling and bootstrap method were used. Results of confirmatory factor analysis verified the latent structures of meaning in work and job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling and χ² test indicated meaning in work and presence meaning in life partially mediated the association between career calling and job satisfaction. The bootstrap method also revealed a significant indirect path from career calling to job satisfaction through them. These findings extend previous studies and shed light on promoting job satisfaction from a positive and meaningful perspective through the effect of adaptive career calling.

[Effect of leader-member exchange on nurses'sense of calling in workplace]

Objective: To investigate the effect of leader-member exchange on nurses'sense of calling in workplace based on self-determination theory. Methods: A total of 381 nurses were randomly selected from five tertiary general hospitals in Zhejiang province, China from October to December, 2016. They were subjected to a survey using the Leader-Member Exchange Scale, Job Autonomy Scale, Core Self-Evaluation Scale, and Calling Scale. The mediating effect was used to test the procedures and the data were subjected to hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The leader-member exchange was positively correlated with job autonomy, core self-evaluation, and sense of calling (r=0.471, P<0.001; r=0.373, P<0.001; r=0.475, P<0.001) ; the leader-member exchange had a positive predictive effect on job autonomy and sense of calling (β= 0.47, P<0.001; β=0.48, P<0.001) ; the job autonomy had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between leader-member exchange and sense of calling (F=66.50, P<0.001) ; the core self-evaluation negatively adjusted the positive relationship between leader-member exchange and job autonomy (F=27.81, P<0.001) . Conclusion: High-quality leader-member exchange enhances the sense of calling by improving staffs' job autonomy and the core self-evaluation reduces the positive relationship between leader-member exchange and job autonomy.