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Published on: June 21, 2010
Fostering professional identity development during and after undergraduate nursing education: A systematic review of
Janne Vanuytrecht1, Eva Goossens2, Erik Franck3
1Workforce Management and Outcome Research in Care (WORC), Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Centre for Research and Innovation in Care (CRIC), Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
In light of a global need to invest in nurse retention as a prerequisite for safeguarding sustainable health systems, the crucial role of professional identity development during and after nursing education has been recognized. However, a comprehensive overview of empirical evidence supporting interventions that effectively enhance the formation of professional identity in nursing is lacking.
Aims:
To synthesize the evidence on the types and impact of interventions fostering professional identity development, on levels of professional identity and retention-related outcomes in nursing students and nurses.
Design:
Systematic literature review.
Review Methods:
A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science up to May 16, 2024. Eligible studies included primary peer-reviewed (quasi-)experimental research on interventions fostering professional identity in nursing, measuring at least one specified outcome. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted, and intervention types were categorized through content analysis. The effect of interventions on selected outcomes was determined by summarizing data using appropriate measures of central tendency and dispersion.
Results:
A total of 3923 unique studies were identified of which 14 were eligible. Most interventions occurred in nursing education, with some in clinical practice during onboarding or continuing education. Three categories of intervention types were distinguished: initiatives fostering role and professional awareness, transition-to-practice and orientation programs, and interprofessional learning activities. Promising interventions lasted between 5 weeks and 10 months and predominantly focused on enhancing self-understanding as a nurse and reflection on the nursing image, often through peer or expert interaction or clinical practice exposure. However, their effect on retention-related outcomes remained underexplored.
Conclusions:
Our findings revealed that interventions aimed at effectively fostering professional identity vary in content, duration, target population and geographic location, underscoring their multifaceted and context-sensitive nature. Strengthening the link between professional identity and nurse retention is crucial for long-term workforce sustainability.
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