How important is altruism to nursing students?

Objective The objective of this study is to identify the altruism levels of nursing students and the affecting factors. Background Altruism is important for nursing students who are at the beginning of their careers as it is characterized by other-oriented feelings such as compassion and empathy. Methods The study was carried out as descriptive research. A total of 1200 nursing students studying at the nursing faculty of a state university in Turkey constituted the population of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 558 students. The data of the study were collected on January-February 2020. Data were collected by the researchers with the "Student Information Form" and the "Altruism Scale." Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS program. Results The main scores of the subdimensions were found to be as follows: "Participating in Volunteer Activities," 24.51 +/- 6.50; "Helping Financially," 23.56 +/- 5.01; "Helping in Traumatic Situations," 25.68 +/- 3.68; "Caring for the 'Elderly/Sick,'" 16.54 +/- 3.25; "Helping Based on Physical Strength," 19.55 +/- 4.21; "Helping in the Education Process," 19.68 +/- 3.72; and "Helping from a Sense of Closeness," 21.06 +/- 3.34. The total mean score of the Altruism Scale was found to be 150.59 +/- 24.16. The altruism levels of nursing students were found to be at a high level. In addition, the altruism levels of the students who were female, studying in the fourth grade, has an income less than their expenses, felt belonging to the profession, and read books were found to be higher compared to the others.