Objective To survey the prevalence of and correlation between nursing students' attitude to doctor-patient relationship and professional identity.

Methods Totally 610 nursing students were selected from three colleges in Shihezi of Xinjiang and interviewed using a self-designed four-dimensional questionnaire on attitude to doctor-patient relationship and a five-dimensional scale on professional identity (by Hao Yu-feng). Statistical analyses included analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and multi-linear regression analysis.

Results There were 597 nursing students who returned valid questionnaires (98.2%). The results of analysis of variance showed that the dimensional scores of professional identity and attitude to doctorpatient relationship varied significantly among students categorized by different characteristics (P < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between nursing student's professional identity and attitude to doctor-patient relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.570; and the correlation coefficients between four dimensions of attitude and professional identity were 0.520, 0.342, 0.150, and 0.644, respectively. The results of multi-linear regression analysis showed that nursing students' attitude had a positive correlation with professional identity (F=279.154, P < 0.05), and medical belief was the most important factor influencing professional identity (b=0.525, P < 0.05).

Conclusion The nursing students' attitude to doctor-patient relationship has a positive prediction on professional identity. Grade, education level, and internship experience could influence their attitude. A positive attitude to doctorpatient relationship is helpful to improve professional identity among nursing students.