Tailored professional identity personas of male undergraduate nursing students: a secondary analysis of qualitative...

With the gradual diversification of the gender structure in Chinese nursing undergraduate education, the number of male nursing students has steadily increased. However, research on the professional identity formation of male nursing students is still limited, particularly in terms of systematically identifying and understanding their intrinsic differences. Therefore, this study aims to identify the professional identity personas of male nursing undergraduates through secondary analysis of existing interview data and explore the characteristics of professional identity construction under different personas.

This study is based on previous qualitative research data from 16 male nursing undergraduates in northern China. Secondary analysis was conducted using Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis method. By extracting factual labels and constructing classification dimensions, the study identifies professional identity types and forms typical professional identity personas.

The study developed eight core themes and categorized them into four types of professional identity personas: (1) Compliant participants with low identity engagement, (2) Value-driven contributors with identity commitment, (3) Transitional adapters with emerging identity, and (4) Reflective strugglers with critical identity rebuilding.

The professional identity formation of male nursing students is notably diverse and complex. Identifying these personas helps nursing educators adopt tailored approaches, providing targeted support and guidance, and fostering gender-friendly and personalized professional development pathways.

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