Narrative Inquiry Of Male Nurses' Professional Identity

ObjectiveThis study attempts to deeply understand the construction process of male nurses' professional identity,analyze the deep-seated reasons affecting the development of their professional identity,and provide reference for improving the educational program and career management of male nurses in China.MethodsIn this study,Clindinin and Connelly's three-dimensional narrative inquiry method was used and participants were selected according to the purpose of sampling.Data weren't collected through face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews until the data was saturated,and transcriptional data were analyzed by situational analysis.ResultsIn this study,12 male nurses from 6 top tertiary hospitals in Chengdu were selected as research participants.On the basis of data analysis,the researcher finds the common story thread of twelve male nurses: germination stage--growth stage--precipitation stage.On this basis,the participants' stories are reconstructed according to a certain theme and order,and twelve different construction stories of male nurses' professional identity are finally formed.ConclusionsThrough the analysis of the research results,this study draws three conclusions:Firstly,the lack of public awareness of the nursing industry makes it difficult for colleges and universities to recruit male nursing students who really like and understand nursing major.Therefore,male nursing students' professional thinking is unstable during school.Nevertheless,the realistic background of "difficult employment for college students" and the traditional concept of "learning for application" make male nursing students still regard the occupation of nurses as their first choice.Secondly,male nurses classify themselves as medical workers,nurses and male nurses in the dimension of professional identity.Through social comparison between different internal and external groups,male nurses will adopt some positive differentiation strategies to highlight their value and importance,improve theirself-esteem,and build their professional identity.Thirdly,the professional identity of male nurses is not formed separately,but constructed in the process of comparing with other occupations.It is a dynamic and continuous development process,which is influenced by many factors such as cultural background,social and family support,occupational needs satisfaction,interpersonal relationships and so on at different stages.