Nurses’ development of professional self – from being a nursing student in a baccalaureate programme to an experienced nurse

AIMS: To investigate how baccalaureate degree nurses conceive their professional self over time, by following them from being students until some years after graduation. BACKGROUND: Competence and professional development in nursing has been studied and discussed in many research studies. However, how baccalaureate degree nurses judge themselves and their own competencies as professionals over time remains a topic for further research. DESIGN: Quantitative and longitudinal. METHODS: Respondents were students entering the three-year academic nursing programme 1993-1995 at a Swedish university. The Nurse Self-Description Form was used at the beginning of the education programme (n = 163), just before graduation (n = 124) and 3-5 years after graduation (n = 82). Data were analysed using parametric and non-parametric procedures. RESULTS: Generally, the respondents rated their professional self highly and rather stably over time on items related to humanistic values, practical, affective and social skills. Six of the 19 items increased significantly during the transition from student to nurse. The rating of the components 'Knowledge mastery' and 'Desire to contribute through research' decreased over time after graduation. Gender, previous studies in health care and participation in development or research work as nurses, influenced the results in some parts. CONCLUSION: In the transition from novice students to experienced nurses, the participants saw themselves well equipped compared with others regarding traditional components of nursing competence. However, their self-judgement decreased in components related to the new demands of a professional nurse. The findings illuminate an urgent need to search for further understanding about reasons why nurses decrease in self-judgement concerning these components. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: As the judgement of professional self is of importance to good performance in nursing, this study shows the need for further collaboration between the nursing education and the health care sector, in which nurses practice and also supervise nursing students.