Abstract
Background. Due to Covid-19 crisis, nursing is in the public eye more than ever. Nurses often are being seen as compassionate helpers. The public image of nursing, however, consists of stereotypes such as nursing being a 'doing' profession, care being a 'female' characteristic and is associated with images from the past. The nursing identity seems a simple and straightforward enough construct, but nothing less is true.
Methods. The presentation is based on a philosophical analysis which was published as an original paper.
Results. Looking at what a professional identity consists of, historic and social developments influence a group identity as a construct. Nurses themselves reinforce stereotypes in order to fit in with standing moral. But nursing actually is better of when viewed upon as a diverse and autonomous profession. Moral values, such as compassion, motivate nurses to enter the profession. If such values are prominently addressed in daily practice, nursing could perhaps be saved from nurses leaving the profession because of feeling unfulfilled. Another aspect of nursing concerns the huge and growing nursing body of knowledge. If seen as the ground on which nursing activities as well as nursing behaviour is standing, it would contribute to a different image of nursing than simplified stereotypes.
Conclusion. This analysis challenges the idea that the nursing identity is unchangeable and the notion that 'a nurse will always be a nurse' and contributes to a debate on the supposed 'true' nature of the nursing identity and the need for it to change.
Notes
Video Length: 1 minute
Sigma Membership
Rho Chi at-Large
Lead Author Affiliation
NHL Stenden University of Applied Science & Medical Centre, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document, Video Recording
Study Design/Type
Philosophical Enquiry
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Nursing Identity, Moral Values, Professionalism, Nursing History, Workforce Shortage
Recommended Citation
van der Cingel, Margreet and Brouwer, Jasperina, "What makes a nurse today?: A debate on the nursing professional identity and its need for change" (2022). General Submissions: Presenations (Oral and Poster). 13.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/gen_sub_presentations/2022/posters/13
Conference Name
Sigma European Region Annual Conference
Conference Host
European Region - Sigma
Conference Location
Dublin, Ireland
Conference Year
2022
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
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Rights Holder
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All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.
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Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
What makes a nurse today?: A debate on the nursing professional identity and its need for change
Dublin, Ireland
Background. Due to Covid-19 crisis, nursing is in the public eye more than ever. Nurses often are being seen as compassionate helpers. The public image of nursing, however, consists of stereotypes such as nursing being a 'doing' profession, care being a 'female' characteristic and is associated with images from the past. The nursing identity seems a simple and straightforward enough construct, but nothing less is true.
Methods. The presentation is based on a philosophical analysis which was published as an original paper.
Results. Looking at what a professional identity consists of, historic and social developments influence a group identity as a construct. Nurses themselves reinforce stereotypes in order to fit in with standing moral. But nursing actually is better of when viewed upon as a diverse and autonomous profession. Moral values, such as compassion, motivate nurses to enter the profession. If such values are prominently addressed in daily practice, nursing could perhaps be saved from nurses leaving the profession because of feeling unfulfilled. Another aspect of nursing concerns the huge and growing nursing body of knowledge. If seen as the ground on which nursing activities as well as nursing behaviour is standing, it would contribute to a different image of nursing than simplified stereotypes.
Conclusion. This analysis challenges the idea that the nursing identity is unchangeable and the notion that 'a nurse will always be a nurse' and contributes to a debate on the supposed 'true' nature of the nursing identity and the need for it to change.
Description
The authors have also written an article about this topic: Cingel, M., & Brouwer, J. (2021). What makes a nurse today? A debate on the nursing professional identity and its need for change. Nursing Philosophy. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12343