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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 12, No. 1
Publication Date: January 25, 2025
DOI:10.14738/assrj.121.18146.
Kang, S.-W. (2025). Humanistic Insights of Korean Nursing Students. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 12(1). 60-63.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Humanistic Insights of Korean Nursing Students
Se-Won Kang
Dongseo University, Department of Nursing,
47 Jurye-ro, Sasang-gu, Busan 47011, South Korea
ABSTRACT
This descriptive research study investigated the humanities insights of Korean
nursing students. Participants in this study were 184 nursing students. Data were
collected from November 1 to 7, 2024. The humanities insight score of nursing
students was 3.34 out of 5 points. History had the highest score in the field of the
humanities. Various educational methods should be developed to foster the
humanities insights necessary for nursing students to practice the essence of
nursing.
Keywords: nursing students, humanities, insights.
INTRODUCTION
The humanities is an academic field that deals with human thought and culture and is ultimately
an academic discipline that studies humans [1]. Although humanities insights are not clearly
defined socially, they refer to the degree of knowledge and interest in elements of humanities
such as history, philosophy, and art. Assuming that the more you are exposed to literature and
acquire more knowledge, the stronger the humanities insights become [2].
As the humanities are emphasized in medical education, doctors who are well-versed in
scientific medicine and mature as cultured individuals are required [3]. Additionally, in nursing,
in response to the demand for nurses' humanities insights, the Korean Accreditation Board of
Nursing Education established humanities and social sciences as essential basic subjects for
nursing, along with natural sciences [4]. This was to enable understanding and reflection on the
roles of humans, society, and nurses and to acquire the capabilities of cultured individuals and
professionals [5].
Education to cultivate humanistic insights is expanding because humanities start from deep
reflection on society and a broad view of the world, so they should be incorporated into the
medical field [6]. The cultivation of humanities insights increases communication and empathy
skills and improves nurses' job performance ability [7].
This study aimed to evaluate nursing students' humanities insights and provide essential data
for setting the humanistic direction needed for future nursing education.
METHODS
Study Design
This was a descriptive research study that investigated the humanities insights and abilities of
Korean nursing students.
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Kang, S.-W. (2025). Humanistic Insights of Korean Nursing Students. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 12(1). 60-63.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.121.18146
Participants and Data Collection
The participants in this study were 184 second-year nursing students from two urban areas of
Korea. Data were collected from November 1 to 7, 2024. The questionnaire comprised a
structured form.
The study's purpose and methodology were explained to participants before distributing the
questionnaire to uphold ethical standards. Only those who voluntarily participated and
provided written consent were included in the study.
Survey and Data Analysis
The questionnaire used in this study comprised 13 items. It includes four areas: reading,
history, literature, philosophy, and arts. Kim (2014) [8] developed a tool for measuring
humanities insights.
The questionnaire was a self-assessment of humanities insights, and the responses to the
questions were measured on a five-point Likert scale, with 1 being "not at all" and 5 being "very
much," with a higher score indicating a higher level of humanities insight. Collected data are
presented as the mean and standard deviation.
RESULT
Score of Humanistic Insights of Nursing Students
The results showed that the total score for nursing students' humanities insights was 3.34
points (out of 5).
Reading insights were 2.82 points. Historical insights were 3.84 points, literary and
philosophical insights were 3.82 points, and artistic insights were 2.89 points. The humanities
area with the highest score was history, and the area with the lowest was reading (Table 1).
Table 1: Score of humanistic insights of nursing students
Items Mean ± SD
Reading insights 2.82±0.89
1 I read at least one book per month in the humanities (history,
philosophy, literature, etc.).
3.02±0.84
2 I like discussing humanities topics (history, philosophy,
literature, etc.) with my friends.
2.82±0.69
3 I like writing about humanities (history, philosophy, literature,
etc.).
2.62±0.52
historical insights 3.84±0.92
4 I have at least one event in the flow and events of history
(Korean history, world history, etc.) that interests me.
3.88±0.86
5 I can tell other individuals about those events in history 3.80±0.94
literature & philosophical insights 3.82±0.86
6 I know at least one philosopher, whether Western or Eastern. 3.86±0.86
7 I can tell others a lot about that philosopher and the philosophy
he advocates.
3.80±0.84
8 I know at least one famous Western or Korean literary work. 3.83±0.82
9 I can tell others about that work quite a bit. 3.80±0.80
artistic insights 2.89±0.74
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 12, Issue 01, January-2025
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
10 I have sufficient knowledge and can talk about the movements
in art history, such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism,
Expressionism, and Cubism.
2.88±0.72
11 I visit art exhibitions at least twice a year. 2.84±0.76
12 I can talk a lot about the history of music, including Baroque and
Rococo music.
2.92±0.72
13 I attend music performances at least twice a year. 2.90±0.76
Total 3.34±0.60
DISCUSSION
This study aimed to determine the level of humanistic insights in nursing students and to help
establish the humanistic direction required for nursing education.
As a result of this study, the average score of humanistic insights of nursing students was 3.34,
higher than the 2.67 points in the study conducted by Hong (2017) [9] using the same
measurement tool. It also scored higher than the 2.48 points in the study conducted by Ha &
Jeon (2016) [5] targeting nurses.
South Korea's nursing education curriculum can explain these results. According to the
accreditation standards of the Korean Institute of Nursing Education Evaluation, the nursing
college education program in Korea must include at least eight credits for humanities and social
sciences as the significant basic subjects when composing the curriculum and at least 25 credits
for liberal arts subjects are required [1]. Therefore, this appears to be the result of the nursing
education curriculum, which has changed since the government-approved nursing education
accreditation evaluation was attempted in 2013. Students' humanistic insight scores have
greatly improved because of the application of the curriculum for more than 10 years.
Therefore, increasing the proportion of humanistic participants in the nursing curriculum could
increase humanistic insights.
This study is significant because it explored humanistic insights into nursing, which are
essential in occupations caring for others, especially in individual-centered academic fields. It
can be considered that various activities to increase humanistic insights to have the essence of
nursing, respect for humanity, and the mindset as a nurse can affect nursing workability.
Humanistic insights should be continuously promoted through extracurricular activities and
operating subjects to expand humanistic insights into nursing education.
One limitation of this study is that the tool used to measure humanistic insights was not
developed for nursing college students, limiting the interpretation of the research results.
However, follow-up studies should be conducted to confirm these findings. In future studies,
we will propose the development of a humanities measurement tool for nursing students.
Additionally, because the results were obtained by randomly selecting participants from one
university, caution is needed when expanding the application of the research results.
CONCLUSION
The humanities insight score of nursing students was 3.34 out of 5. Measures should be taken
to foster the humanities insights that are necessary for nursing students to practice the essence