‘Mother, shield, or air’: undergraduate nursing students’ metaphorical constructions of the community nursing role

To identify and interpret the metaphors undergraduate nursing students use to conceptualize the community nursing role and the meanings expressed through these metaphors. A descriptive qualitative study using inductive qualitative content analysis, with conceptual metaphor theory as a sensitizing analytical lens. In June 2025, 216 undergraduate nursing students from three cohorts at one university in central China completed the prompt, “A community nurse is like ______ because ______.” Each image and its explanation formed the unit of analysis. Responses were assigned to one primary category using inductive content analysis. Intercoder agreement was assessed in 65 independently categorized responses. Twenty-two participants provided feedback on the category assigned to their response and its description. Six descriptive categories were identified: Nurturer/Caregiver (31.0%), Guardian/Defender (23.6%), Connector/Coordinator (16.2%), Guide/Educator (13.4%), Versatile/Multi-role Professional (10.2%), and Other Role Representations (5.6%). Students emphasized relational care, protection, coordination, education, and adaptability. Other responses concerned specific tasks, working style, and perceived professional value. Students represented community nursing through relationships with residents, the organization of care, and varied responsibilities. Their explanations showed how familiar images conveyed different aspects of the role. Metaphor elicitation can help educators explore students’ understanding of community nursing and discuss the reasoning and responsibilities involved in practice. Not applicable.