The educational background of nurses who presently hold professional registration can be divided into three general categories: diploma, associate and baccalaureate degrees. Role identity varies in each of these categories and is a major source of confusion and conflict about the role of the professional nurse.

This study identified the expectations underlying the role of the professional nurse and determined the relationship between those expectations and selected demographic characteristics of registered nurse students and faculty members in baccalaureate nursing programs.

The sample population included registered nurse students and faculty members in baccalaureate nursing science programs in the Mid-Atlantic region. Three scales measured the expectations of the professional role of the nurse: Hall's Professional Inventory, WICHE's Self-Description Form and the author's Professional Characteristics Scale.

Factor analysis of responses to the role expectations instrument indicated that 12 factors underlie the students' and faculty members' perceived role of the professional nurse. These dimensions were: professional organizations as a major referent, public service, commitment, self-regulation, autonomy, leadership, human relations, scientific orientations, clinical practice, nursing theory, bureaucracy, and self-motivation.

Consensus was found between faculty and students on 16 of the 60 variables. Pearson product moment correlations characterized the existence of a relationship between leadership, human relations and scientific orientations. There was a statistically significant relationship between older faculty members and the factors of professional organizations, commitment and self-motivation. Analysis of variance to determine the relationship between role expectations and demographic data revealed: faculty prepared in basic diploma programs and students who were employed full-time had higher mean scores on the autonomy factor. The t-test provided a significant difference between students not receiving tuition and the human relations factor.

This study's findings suggested: the greater consensus this faculty had on the role expectation factors, the greater consensus students had; younger faculty had low scores on autonomy; students ranked the personal attributes of self as their motivating factor to complete the baccalaureate degree; and there was no statistically significant difference between the educational preparation of students or faculty and their ratings of the expectations of the professional role of the nurse.