The effect of nursing internship program on burnout and professional commitment

Professional commitment is defined as a belief in and acceptance of the values of the profession which is chosen, effort to actualize these values, desire to improve him/herself. Nurses' professional and organizational commitment are influenced by factors such as job stress, job satisfaction and burnout. This study was conducted to determine the effect of nursing internship program on professional commitment and burnout of senior nursing students. A quasi-experimental study with a pretest and posttest without control group design was used. Students who were attending nursing internship program and agreed to participate were included in the study. Sample consisted of 101 students. Data were collected with a questionnaire, the burnout measure short version and nursing professional commitment scale. After the nursing internship, 77.2% were pleased to study nursing, 83.2% were pleased to be a senior student, 55.4% did not have any intention to change their profession, 81.2% wanted to work as nurses, and 82.2% were planning career advancement in nursing of the students, 34.7% and 43.6% were found to experience burnout, before and after the nursing internship, respectively (p < 0.05). When the students' mean pre-test and post-test scores on the nursing professional commitment scale were compared, a significant difference was found between mean scores on the total score and “maintaining membership” subscale (p < 0.05). This study revealed that after the nursing internship, burnout and professional commitment levels of the students increased.