Student nurse socialisation in compassionate practice: a Grounded Theory study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Socialization
• Compassionate Care

Background:

• Compassionate practice is a core expectation for Registered Nurses (RNs) globally.
• Concerns exist that current student nurse socialization hinders the development and maintenance of compassionate practice.
• Student nurses require supportive environments for compassion to flourish during their training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the socialization process of student nurses concerning compassionate practice.
• To explore student nurses' experiences of dissonance between professional ideals and practice realities.
• To identify factors influencing the ability of student nurses to enact and maintain compassionate practice.

Main Methods:

• Grounded Theory study using in-depth, digitally recorded interviews with student nurses (n=19) and nurse teachers (n=5).
• Utilized National Health Service (NHS) patient (n=72,000) and staff (n=290,000) survey data for contextual understanding.
• Data collected at a university in Northern England between 2009-2010.

Main Results:

• Student nurses aspire to compassionate practice but express concerns about its feasibility within RN role constraints.
• Students experience vulnerability and uncertainty due to the dissonance between professional ideals and practice realities.
• Students navigate this by balancing the intention to uphold ideals with the need to adapt to constraints.

Conclusions:

• Socialization in compassionate practice is compromised by the gap between professional idealism and practice realism.
• A realignment between practice realities and professional ideals is necessary.
• Fostering student resilience is crucial for successful socialization and retention of compassionate practice in 21st-century nursing.