Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41612294›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2026

Ethical behavior profiles among nursing interns and their determinants: a latent profile analysis.

Jia Qu, Pu Lin, Li Liu, Min Min, Yayun Song

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Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Jia QuDepartment of Nursing, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Pu LinSchool of Medicine| Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China.
Li LiuDepartment of Nursing, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Min MinDepartment of Nursing, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Yayun SongSchool of Medicine| Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Occurrence and Intervention of Kidney Diseases, Hubei Polytechnic University, Huangshi, China. yayunsong@whu.edu.cn.

Funding

Education and Teaching Research Program of Hubei Polytechnic University 2025A02Hubei Provincial Teaching Reform Research Project for Undergraduate Universities 2025453Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology TJSZ2024076
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveEthical practice is a core professional expectation in nursing, yet nursing interns may vary substantially in how they enact ethical principles during clinical placements. This study examined ethical behavior among nursing interns through latent profile analysis and explored personal and environmental determinants.

methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2024 with 369 nursing interns from a tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China. Instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Ethical Behavior Scale for Nurses, and the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale. Latent profile analysis was used to classify nursing interns’ ethical behavior into different profiles. Univariate group-comparison tests and multinomial logistic regression were used to determine factors that were associated with different profiles.

resultsThree distinct ethical behavior profiles were identified: Moderate–Balanced (37.7%), Technical-Priority & Fairness-Neglect (13.6%), and Consistent High-Scorer (48.8%). Compared with Consistent High-Scorers, males and those who had received patient complaints were more likely to belong to the Moderate–Balanced or Technical-Priority & Fairness-Neglect profiles. Higher moral courage and stronger professional passion were associated with lower odds of Moderate–Balanced profile membership.

conclusionMore than half of the interns were classified into suboptimal profiles, highlighting the need to strengthen everyday ethical practice. Educational methods need to transcend uniform approaches, emphasizing the development of moral courage and professional enthusiasm through ethics-centered simulations. Establishing supportive clinical environments with structured feedback mechanisms is essential to guide interns toward consistently high ethical performance.

Indexed as

Ethics, NursingAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelChinaCourageCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesEthical behaviorLatent profile analysisMoral courageNursing interns

Identifiers

PMID41612294
PMCPMC12934002

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.