Abstract: Objective To investigate the current situation of vocational nursing students' sense of professional mission, career adaptability and academic engagement,analyze the relationship among them,and explore the mediating effect of career adaptability on the relationship between sense of professional mission and academic engagement. Methods From April to August 2022,1 175 nursing students in a vocational college in Fujian Province were investigated with the sense of professional mission scale, career adaptability scale and academic engagement scale. The structural equation model was used to verify the mediating effect of career adaptability on the relationship between sense of professional mission and academic engagement. Results The total score of sense of professional mission,career adaptability and academic engagement was （42.94±6.51）,（95.96±11.71） and （89.64±15.83）points,respectively. The univariate analysis showed that the differences were statistically significant in the scores of sense of professional mission,career adaptability and academic engagement among nursing students with different grade,place of origin,only child,family residence,student cadres,reasons for choosing nursing major,and social part?time experience（all P<0.05）. There were statistically significant differences in the scores of sense of professional mission and academic engagement among nursing students whose part?time work is related to their major or not（all P<0.05）. There was statistically significant difference in the score of sense of professional mission among nursing students whose parents have received higher education or not（P<0.05）. The sense of professional mission was positively correlated with career adaptability and academic engagement（r=0.563,0.577,both P<0.01）, and career adaptability was positively correlated with academic engagement（r=0.588,P<0.01）. The career adaptability played a partial mediating role in sense of professional mission and academic engagement,accounting for 40.34% of the total effect. Conclusions The vocational nursing students' sense of professional mission,career adaptability and academic engagement are closely related,and all of them are at a good level. The career adaptability plays a partial mediating role in sense of professional mission and academic engagement. The vocational nursing colleges should focus on strengthening students' career education,enhancing their sense of professional mission,encouraging nursing students to engage in their studies with a more positive attitude,and helping them achieve their expected academic achievements.

Key words: Higher vocational nursing students, Sense of professional mission, Career adaptability, Academic engagement, Intermediary role