Introduction:

The participation with the College of Nurses is a relevant action to support the development of nursing in Chile because this organization stands as an important defender to the practice. Therefore, it is advisable that nursing teachers promote this vision among the nursing community.

Materials and Methods:

This is a quantitative, transectional and correlational study with 49 academicians from diverse teaching centers in the city of Puerto Montt, Chile, who were assessed in terms of their affiliation to the College of Nurses, their knowledge, attitudes, and motivations regarding their participation with this organization. A locally-designed instrument (α Cronbach 0.71) was used.

Results:

40.9% of the teachers were affiliated to the College of Nurses. Associations between attitudes and working dynamics (Spearman Correlation = 0.158, p =0.043), and affiliation to the College (Spearman Correlation = 0.142, p = 0.02) were found.

Discussion:

The participation with the College of Nurses can allow the strengthening of the profession by favoring its visibility, leadership, and professional identity, though these important gains are not always sufficient to encourage an affiliation or a positive attitude towards this organization.

Conclusions:

In order to better promote the affiliation to the College of Nurses, young teachers’ indifference attitudes, as well as other overall motivation factors should be considered first.