Paper
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
686
Nurse Leaders Influence Nurses View of the Image of Nursing
Lorraine E. Emeghebo, EdD, MS, BSN, BS, RN, Faculty School of Nursing, Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
| Learning Objective #1: discuss their preception of the image of nursing |
| Learning Objective #2: identify mentoring strategies to enhance nurses image of the profession |
A qualitative study was conducted to explore the image of nursing as perceived by nurses. In addition, factors that influenced nurses’ images of the profession and nurses’ evolving images of nursing over the course of their career were also investigated. During semi-structured interviews, participants shared their thoughts about what they believe to be true about the image of nursing. All of the participants wrote about an incident that had a significant impact on their image of nursing. Messages participants in this study received about nursing determined how they valued nursing, and influenced their perceptions of the images of the profession. The categories that emerged reflected what study participants believed to be true as they spoke about the nursing profession. Categories also revealed factors that influenced nurses’ images of the profession. This study found that nurses enter the profession with a mostly positive image of nursing based on the depth and scope of their education and their understanding of the role of nurses. Almost as soon as they begin to practice, the overwhelming workload and their experiences with their preceptors tarnishes nurses’ images of the profession. As they navigate their career, nurses’ images of the profession of nursing are influenced by their interactions with others in their work environment, including other nurses. Nurses in this study described their colleagues as contributing to their negative perceptions of the images of nursing. Nurses working in maternal-child health perceived the image of maternal-child nursing in a positive light.