The nursing students journey

in constructing a professional identity. A longitudinal

qualitative study

Theresa Pengelly

Senior Lecturer in Children and Young People’s Nursing

Coventry University

PhD student /University of Worcester

theresa.pengelly@coventry.ac.uk

Supervisory Team

• Dr Janice Clarke , Senior Lecturer : Allied Health Sciences. University of Worcester

• Professor Dominic Upton, Associate Head: Academic Delivery. University of Worcester

Aims of Presentation

• Discuss the background of the Research Study

• Explain the Research Design and Methods

• Apply the Research Study to Practice

Professional Status of Nursing

Professional Identity in Nursing

• Knowing who you are as a professional

and how you fit into the health care organisation, your professional identity

is an integral part of being in a profession.

Johnson et al ( 2012)

Professional Identity in Nursing

Secrest at al (2003) and Morris and Faulk (2007) undertook surveys. Johnson et al(2012) used a quantitative approach .

Research Question and Aim

What are the factors within a pre registration programme that contribute towards the construction of a professional identity?

To critically examine how nursing

students develop a professional identity

over their three year training period

Longitudinal Study • From to generates a product of change• From through outlines the process of

change • Life epiphanies • Meticulous Approach to handling of

data• Care of participants

Saldana (2003)

Research Design

• Longitudinal• Qualitative • Hermeneutic Phenomenology • Bronfenbrenner’s Model of Human

Development (1979) • Ethical Approval

Research Methods

• Purposive Sample • Maximum – 30 nursing students• Adult, Child , Mental Health • Online questionnaire – Year One

Research Methods

• Semi- Structured interviews Year One and Two

• Unstructured interviews Year Three • Online ( individual) blog Year Two

onwards

Online Questionnaire so far

• Feeling like a Nurse

• Always x• Sometimes • Occasionally x• Never x

Next stage of Data Collection • Micro- system • The experience of being on placement and of

attending theory modules • Meso- system• The student’s experience of their relationship with

mentors, personal and module tutors • Exo – system• The students perception of the influence of regulatory

bodies and trust policies • Macro – system• The student’s viewpoint of how nurses are perceived

in society

Future Challenges

• Retaining Participants

• Capturing true experiences

• Ensuring Blog Data is relevant

Thank You

• Thank You for listening

•

References

Bronfenbrenner , U. (1979) The Ecology of Human Development .Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge. Harvard University Press

Johnson, M., Cowin, L.S.,Wilson, I., Young, H. (2012) Professional Identity and Nursing : contemporary theoretical developments and future research challenges. International Nursing Review.59 :562-569

Morris, A. and Faulk, D. (2007 ) Perspective transformation: Enhancing the development of professionalism in RN to BSN students . Journal of Nursing Education.46 (10) 445-452

Saldana , J. (2003) Longitudinal Qualitative Research. Analyzing change through time . Maryland. Rowan and Littlefield Publishers.