Sense of coherence, academic performance and professional vocation in Certified Nursing Assistant students

Abstract

Background: The sense of coherence (SOC) of the salutogenic health model explains why people in stressful situations are able to maintain or even improve their health. There are some studies on which measures are more effective to reduce stress in Nursing assistant students. There are no studies that link SOC with the two key aspects in the prevention of stress in Nursing assistant students: the motivation of pursuing this profession and the academic level.

Objectives: To explore the salutogenic paradigm among Nursing assistant students in a region of Spain (Comunitat Valenciana).

Design: Cross-sectional, analytical and exploratory study carried out in 2016.

Methods: Students of the first year of Nursing Assistant certification. Self-administered questionnaire to collect the variables: Sense of Coherence (SOC-13 instrument); professional vocation; Self-reported grades of the academic record.

Results: The mean score for the total SOC measurement was M = 56.38 (SD = 12.236; 71). Regarding the SOC components, the average score was for Manageability M = 16.45 (SD = 4.53; 24); Comprehensibility M = 19.27 (SD = 5.642; 30) and Meaningfulness M = 20.65 (SD = 4.48; 23). Students who lived in rural environments presented a weaker SOC (M = 54.05), compared to those who were located in urban environments (M = 56.83) and large cities (M = 56.15). The students who reported a choice of studies motivated by professional vocation presented a stronger SOC, scoring also a remarkable academic performance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Strong levels of SOC in Nursing assistant students, are related to a greater motivation to study something desirable, and to obtaining high academic performance, despite being a demanding and high-stress profession. Therefore, a strong SOC seems to contribute to being more resistant to stress. The environments that provide and facilitate greater external resources such as health, education, culture, association, leisure and recreation, for the community, have higher global levels of sense of coherence.

Keywords: Certified Nursing Assistant; Nursing; Salutogenic Model of Health; Sense of coherence; Vocational Education and Training.