Assessing time-management skills in terms of age, gender, and anxiety levels: A study on nursing and midwifery students in Turkey
Introduction
Time management refers to planning the time available in line with personal goals and lifestyles, while keeping individual preferences, likes, and dislikes in mind. The criterion for efficient time management lies not only in achieving set goals, but also in attaining them in the minimum time possible (Özgen, 2000, Yeşilyaprak, 2003, Karaoğlan, 2006, Eldeleklioğlu, 2008). The important point is how to use the available time most efficiently and effectively (Karaoğlan, 2006). Those who are able to use their time efficiently are individuals who do not focus on a single subject within the given time, but those who distribute their time among various activities, such as work, private life, and individual fields of interest (Sayan, 2005). By prioritizing activities, one can use time appropriately. Planning includes the two most important steps involved in the organization of human life: how to arrive from the present point to the target point and how to achieve a goal within the shortest time (Özgen, 2000, Yeşilyaprak, 2003, Waterworth, 2003, Eldeleklioğlu, 2008).
Inadequate time planning reduces the scope of academic achievement, causes insufficient time allocation for other personal and social activities, decreases individual satisfaction, increases stress levels, and leads to an inability to acquire positive personality traits, such as decision making, leadership, and critical thinking (Campbell and Svenson, 1992, Simpson and Courtney, 2002, Gran-Moravec and Hughes, 2005, Karaoğlan, 2006). According to Smith (1998), the way individuals handle time determines whether they will become psychologically tense or depressed. Sabuncuoğlu and Tüz (1998) suggest that those who cannot organize their time well inevitably experience stress, and the majority of those who complain about having little amounts of time do not know how to use and manage their time.
University students’ success depends on their ability to utilize time properly and most efficiently. Thus, students are required to learn how to manage their time so that they are able to apply the same degree of efficiency in the profession they choose after completing their education. This is an extremely important skill that nursing students must acquire during their academic life so that they can enhance their competence and quality of service. Indeed, a positive correlation has been found among issues related to time management and academic achievement (Britton and Tesser, 1991, Sabuncuoğlu and Tüz, 1998, Alay, 2000, Alay and Koçak, 2002, Alay and Koçak, 2003, Sayan, 2005, Erdem et al., 2005, Karaoğlan, 2006, Demirtaş and Özer, 2007, Başak et al., 2008).
Based on this fact, the present study was conducted with a focus on Turkish nursing and midwifery students to understand the correlation between time management skills and factors, such as age, gender, and anxiety levels and thereby make further recommendations on time management.
Section snippets
Purpose and type of study
This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with Turkish nursing and midwifery students to determine how factors such as age, gender, and anxiety levels influence the ability to manage time.
Research questions
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What are students’ time management skills?
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What is the state-trait anxiety level of students?
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What is the correlation between students’ age, gender, and anxiety levels and the ability to manage time?
Study subjects and sample selection
The research study involved 1002 students from the Istanbul University Florence Nightingale School of
Results
Nursing and midwifery students who composed the samples consisted primarily of females (n = 525, 89.9%). It was determined that 56.5% (n = 330) of them were between 20 and 22 years old and that the mean age was 20.58 years (SD = 2.10, min = 17, max = 40).
Student time management skills
It is vitally important for students to realize the importance of the concept of time and acquiring time management skills. Moreover, it is of great significance that adolescents determine their priorities, decide what to do in the future, make short- and long-term plans, develop healthily and achieve their goals (Eldeleklioğlu, 2008).
Students need to follow their courses, prepare for exams systemically, attend extra-curricular activities and make good use of time for their remaining activities
Conclusion
We have identified that nursing and midwifery students have mid-level time management skills. Female students were able to manage their time better than male students, and students’ time management skills decreased as levels of anxiety increased.
It is necessary to provide training and consultancy regarding time management skills to nursing and midwifery students whom we determined as having medium time management skills. These skills will allow them to learn to make efficient use of their time
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Hatice Gegin, Müge Evren, Hazal Muslu, Hanım Koyun, and the students at Istanbul University, Nursing Faculty for collecting data as well as all of the participants who participated in this study.
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