The Fear of Covid-19 and Professional Commitment in Nursing Students Switching from Online Education to Face- to-face Education: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose: During the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, courses were offered online in departments of nursing, and hence, clinical practices were interrupted. Along with the fall in COVID-19 cases, the decision to switch from online education to face-to-face education was taken. This study was carried out to determine the fear of COVID-19 and professional commitment levels of nursing students who switched from online education to face-to-face education. Methods: The descriptive cross-sectional study was performed with 340 nursing students. The data were collected online with a Personal Data Form, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), and the Nursing Professional Commitment Scale (NPCS). Results: The mean FCV-19S score of the participants was found as 16.44±6.03, whilst their mean NPCS score was identified as 79.67±10.53. It was determined that there was no statistically significant relationship between nursing the FCV-19S and NPCS scores of the participants (p>0.05). Conclusion: It was discerned that nursing students had below-average levels of fear of COVID-19, while they exhibited moderate professional commitment, and their fear of COVID-19 did not affect their professional commitment.