Accord and discord in students' images of nursing

This article discusses findings from a qualitative study of student nurses' images of nursing from entry to training through early clinical experiences. Three rounds of interviews were conducted with 24 Scottish students. Analysis revealed five major themes in students' initial images: pictures of nursing, the good nurse, what nursing entails, occupational labels for nursing, and being a student/becoming a nurse. These were pursued in later interviews and characteristics of students' experience-mediated images were identified. The picture of adult medical-surgical nursing as typical of real nursing persisted throughout. "Working with people" and "helping" appeared as central characteristics of nursing. Notions of good and bad underlay many features of the image. The paradoxical nature of "involvement" was noticeable. Staff attitudes figured prominently in determining the quality of students' experience and in development of image. Commitment and belonging were integral to students' images and made nursing more than just a job. Processes through which students' images developed included affirmation, accommodation, and nonaccommodation. Associated processes included identification, disillusionment, and extenuation. There was clear evidence of the importance of support to enable students to adapt to image disparities.