Haghighat et al. BMC Nursing (2020) 19:49 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00440-y RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Is there a relationship between moral competencies and the formation of professional identity among nursing students? Sahar Haghighat1,2, Fariba Borhani3 and Hadi Ranjbar4* Abstract Background: Moral competencies are essential for nursing work. Professional identity is a set of values and beliefs that a person has about her/his job, which includes moral values as well. The development of moral competencies and formation of professional identity in nursing students occurs mainly during their college years. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between moral competencies and the formation of professional identity among nursing students. Methods: This study was designed as a descriptive-correlational study. The study population was consisted of nursing students who were enrolled in nursing schools at the time of the study. Two hundred and twenty-one nursing students completed the study tools. The research tools were a demographic questionnaire, Moral Development Scale for Professionals (MDSP), and Professional Identity Scale for Nursing Students (PISNS). Results: The mean (SD) of MDSP and PISNS scores was 45.69 5.90 and 55.61 12.75, respectively. There was a significant statistical relationship between MSDP and PISNS scores (p 0.05). A significant equation was found (f Table 1 Demographic characteristics of study subjects (N = 221) Variable Sex Marital status Part-time nursing work Number Percentage Male 109 49.3 Female 112 50.7 Single 186 84.2 Married 35 18.8 No 80 36.2 Yes 141 63.8 Haghighat et al. BMC Nursing (2020) 19:49 Page 4 of 7 Table 2 The correlation between professional identity and moral development dimensions Correlation Authoritative standards Public meaning Moral practice Common values Moral Development Social modeling r = 0.322 p