Professional identity and hospital-based registered nurses: A phenomenological study.

INTRODUCTION

Nurses continue to struggle to define their role as professionals in the hospital-setting often being represented in media as less competent than other health care providers. Paradoxically, an annual poll of the public consistently identifies nursing as the most trusted profession. This dichotomy of simultaneously being considered incompetent yet holding a high level of trust leads nurses to question their own professional identity. A gap exists in the literature about the professional identity of nurses who work directly with patients in the hospital environment.

METHODOLOGY

Therefore, the aim of this interpretive phenomenology study was to describe the lived experience of nurses working with patients in the hospital environment and the meaning of this phenomenon as it relates to their professional identity.

RESULTS

Four themes were identified: (a) being validated as an expert by providers within the healthcare system; (b) working well as a valued member of a team; (c) advocating for the patient's needs despite opposition; and (d) Valuing human-ness in the patient.

IMPLICATIONS

The findings provide a deeper representation of the practice of hospital-based nurses and implications for Anchornurses to be empowered in their workplace.