LINKING PROFESSIONAL VALUES TO THE NURSING PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) ERA

Abstract

Background: In today’s complex and evolving healthcare systems, the alignment between nurses’ professional values and their work environment plays a pivotal role in shaping the quality of care delivered and the sustainability of the nursing workforce. Professional nursing values such as altruism, human dignity, integrity, and social justice form the ethical and moral foundation of nursing practice. These values guide clinical decision-making, interactions, and the commitment to patient advocacy and safety. However, the extent to which these values can be effectively upheld is often influenced by the nature of the nursing practice environment.

Methods: A cross-sectional and correlation study was implemented in a tertiary care university hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. The hospital includes multiple departments such as medical, surgical, intensive care units (ICUs), and emergency services using a Professional Values Scale-Revised (NPVS-R) and Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI). A convenient sample of 200 nurses was granted to be included in this study.

The results of this study indicated that there were a statistically significant positive correlation between various dimensions of professional nursing values (NPVS-R) and elements of the practice environment (PES-NWI), indicating that improvements in one area are associated with enhancements in the other. The strongest relationship was observed between the total NPVS-R and total PES-NWI scores (r = 0.52, p < 0.001), demonstrating a moderate-to-strong positive correlation. This finding suggests that as nurses perceive a more supportive and enabling practice environment, their commitment to professional values also increases—and vice versa. Therefore, this study recommended future studies should explore contextual factors influencing the value-practice environment relationship across different healthcare settings and cultural contexts to generalize findings and tailor interventions accordingly.