Factors influencing nursing professional identity development: A qualitative study

Self-efficacy mediates the effect of professional identity on learning engagement for nursing students in higher vocational colleges: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Learning engagement is a crucial predictor of academic achievement. It is essential to understand the factors influencing learning engagement among nursing students, especially from the learner's perspective, which is notably scarce but vital for designing effective educational interventions.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the mediating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between professional identity and learning engagement for nursing students in higher vocational colleges.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted.

SETTING

The study was conducted in four higher vocational colleges located in Guangdong Province, China.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 944 first- and second-year nursing students participated in the study between October and November 2022.

METHODS

Data were collected with questionnaires on general information, professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement and analyzed with SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS v4.1 (Model 4), exploring relationships among professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement through Pearson correlations, multivariate regression, and mediation analysis with 5000 bootstrap samples.

RESULTS

The participants exhibited moderate levels of professional identity (85.37 ± 13.52), self-efficacy (25.58 ± 5.74), and learning engagement (71.26 ± 16.17), which were all significantly correlated with each other (P < 0.01). In the model of the mediating effect, professional identity directly (β = 0.811, t = 27.484, P < 0.001) and indirectly [β = 0.112,95%CI (0.074-0.154)] significantly predicts college students' learning engagement; professional identity has a significant positive predictive effect on self-efficacy (β = 0.182, t = 14.459, P < 0.001) and self-efficacy significantly predicts learning engagement (β = 0.614, t = 8.292, P < 0.001). Furthermore, the direct effect of professional identity on learning engagement (0.699) and its mediating effect (0.112) account for 86.19 % and 13.81 % of the total effect (0.811), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Participants exhibited moderate levels of professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement. Professional identity and self-efficacy are interconnected and positively correlated, influencing learning engagement among nursing students, which highlights the need to foster these qualities to enhance education and future practice.

"Safety Means Everything": An ethnographic methodology to explore the formation of professional identity in nursing students

AIM

The aim of this qualitative study is to explore how various conditions within educational contexts impact nursing students' experiences of becoming professional nurses and how these conditions affect their agency and the formation of their professional identities.

BACKGROUND

Nursing education is essential to becoming professional and competent in caring for patients. A strong professional identity in nursing contributes to better patient outcomes and improves the well-being, retention, and recruitment of practitioners in the health care system. At the same time, research indicates that development of a professional identity during education is challenging and needs further investigation.

DESIGN

The qualitative research design draws on the theoretical and methodological framework of critical psychology practice research. The practice research design and close collaboration with users ensure the continuous development and implementation of theory and practice.

METHODS

The data used in this study originated from ethnographic fieldwork, which involved following two nursing students through their final clinical placement training at the Geriatric Department of a university hospital in Denmark. Additionally, nursing students in two classes were observed as part of their nursing education practice at a university college from April to July 2022. The participant observational design, combined with in-situ interviewing, facilitated a comprehensive understanding of the students' engagement in social practices and interactions within the context of nursing education.

RESULTS

Our results show how the conditions of nursing students' everyday lives have a critical impact on their self-understanding and journey to becoming competent and professional nurses. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Perception of safety, (2) Motivation for learning in different communities of practice, and (3) The meaning of learning culture and role models.

CONCLUSION

The development of nursing students into professionals is profoundly influenced by factors affecting their ontological safety that are deeply embedded in socio-cultural and educational contexts. The results underscore the need to foster ontological safety in nursing education. Creating safe, participatory, and supportive learning environments is essential to the holistic development of students into caring, competent nurses. Educators and stakeholders must remember their crucial role in this context and focus on establishing these environments to facilitate students' sense of belonging in the nursing profession.

TWEETABLE ABSTRACT

The development of professional identity in nursing starts with safety. Ontological Safety in learning environments ensures competent and professional nurses. #NursingEducation#Safety#ProfessionalIdentity.

Nursing Students' Perceptions About the Culture of Nursing: A Focused Ethnography Study

AIM

The aim of this study was to gain students' perspectives on the culture of nursing and their enculturation to this professional culture.

BACKGROUND

Newly graduated registered nurses (NGRNs) experience identity shock when transitioning to practice, at great costs to themselves and health care organizations. Understanding how nursing students view their professional culture and the enculturation process can foster professional identity formation and ameliorate NGRN identity shock.

METHOD

This focused ethnography study used focus groups for data collection and Leininger's method of data analysis.

RESULTS

Two themes emerged: 1) descriptors of the culture of nursing and 2) influence of formal and informal learning.

CONCLUSION

Nursing students struggle to define the culture of nursing, contributing to challenges with the enculturation process and leading to identity shock. Intentionally addressing these challenges can help decrease identity shock, promote stronger professional nursing identity formation, and improve the transition to nursing practice.

Structural equation modeling of factors associated with nursing students' professionalism during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to determine the factors associated with nursing professionalism among Korean nursing students. This cross-sectional study was carried out using a convenient sample comprising 247 students enrolled in a four-year Bachelor of Science Nursing program from September 6-27, 2021. A self-reported structured questionnaire was employed to explore the relationships among ego-resilience, self-leadership, clinical learning environment, academic satisfaction, clinical competency, and nursing professionalism by utilizing structural equation modeling. The modified model exhibited good fit indices. Learning-related factors, including clinical learning environments, academic satisfaction, and clinical competency, directly affected nursing professionalism. Self-leadership and the clinical learning environment were indirectly associated with nursing professionalism via both academic satisfaction and clinical competency. Regarding ego-resilience, it only indirectly affected nursing professionalism via academic satisfaction. Creating a student-centered learning environment may be vital to improve students' major and clinical performance, thereby boosting nursing professionalism. Furthermore, nurse educators should consider individual psychological aspects of students when designing the nursing curriculum to foster nursing professionalism. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine if our model is available to explain the development of professionalism among nursing students.

A conceptual model using CliftonStrengths® to support dental hygiene students' professional development

PURPOSE

Professional development is instrumental in the ongoing success of healthcare professionals and students. The purpose of the second year of this 2-year study was to continue to apply the results from the CliftonStrengths® assessment to support entry-level dental hygiene students' professional development and to create a conceptual model for professional development in dental hygiene education.

METHODS

CliftonStrengths® was incorporated into didactic and community learning experiences throughout year two of the dental hygiene curriculum. At the end of year two, focus group interviews assessed student perceptions of professional strengths based on these learning experiences. Co-investigators used a qualitative analysis software program to identify codes and themes. Investigator triangulation and member checks were used to validate responses.

RESULTS

All second-year dental hygiene students (n = 32) participated in year two of the study. Two themes were identified: relevance of CliftonStrengths® and professional development. Within the theme of relevance, the subthemes of adaptability, making connections and teamwork emerged. The theme of professional development yielded three subthemes: appreciation, personal and professional identity and insight.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated CliftonStrengths® can be used to promote professional development among dental hygiene students. As a result, a conceptual model was developed for professional development in dental hygiene education. This model can be used as a framework for teaching and to improve student learning experiences.