Article type
Abstract
Background
Individuals' perceptions of the goals, beliefs, societal values, attitudes, roles, and other factors of the profession they work in and the professional groups to which they belong can be subdivided into occupational and professional identities. Nursing students' occupational and professional identities have been identified as determinants of nursing students' intention to retain/leave the nursing profession and have important implications for nursing students and nursing career development.
Objective
To systematically evaluate the level of occupational and professional identity of nursing students in China in order to provide reference for nursing education practice.
Methods
CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINHAL and the medRxiv preprint server were searched. Search starts May 2020 through July 22, 2023. After double screening and quality evaluation, Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 17.
Results
The review included 24 articles and a total of 14,790 nursing students. The standard pooled result for their occupational identity was [72.04, 95%CI (68.53,75.55), P＜0.001]. Subgroup analysis showed that there were significant differences in the occupational identity scores of nursing students in studies with different stages of study, sampling methods, and survey times, while there were no significant differences in studies with different academic levels. Meta-regression showed that the sample size, sampling method, survey time, and academic level explained 73.85% of the heterogeneity in nursing students' occupational identity scores. Only four studies focused on professional identity, with a standard pooled result of [66.05, 95%CI (57.08,75.01), P＜0.001].
Conclusion
The occupational and professional identity of nursing students in China showed moderate levels. Study design, survey time and academic level as factors causing heterogeneity in occupational identity scores. Educators can use nursing role models to guide students. Advocating for improving the social status and attractiveness of the nursing profession, as well as fostering a sense of belonging among nursing professionals. Future studies should strive for large, representative samples and carefully measure and account for confounding factors.
Individuals' perceptions of the goals, beliefs, societal values, attitudes, roles, and other factors of the profession they work in and the professional groups to which they belong can be subdivided into occupational and professional identities. Nursing students' occupational and professional identities have been identified as determinants of nursing students' intention to retain/leave the nursing profession and have important implications for nursing students and nursing career development.
Objective
To systematically evaluate the level of occupational and professional identity of nursing students in China in order to provide reference for nursing education practice.
Methods
CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINHAL and the medRxiv preprint server were searched. Search starts May 2020 through July 22, 2023. After double screening and quality evaluation, Meta-analysis was conducted using STATA 17.
Results
The review included 24 articles and a total of 14,790 nursing students. The standard pooled result for their occupational identity was [72.04, 95%CI (68.53,75.55), P＜0.001]. Subgroup analysis showed that there were significant differences in the occupational identity scores of nursing students in studies with different stages of study, sampling methods, and survey times, while there were no significant differences in studies with different academic levels. Meta-regression showed that the sample size, sampling method, survey time, and academic level explained 73.85% of the heterogeneity in nursing students' occupational identity scores. Only four studies focused on professional identity, with a standard pooled result of [66.05, 95%CI (57.08,75.01), P＜0.001].
Conclusion
The occupational and professional identity of nursing students in China showed moderate levels. Study design, survey time and academic level as factors causing heterogeneity in occupational identity scores. Educators can use nursing role models to guide students. Advocating for improving the social status and attractiveness of the nursing profession, as well as fostering a sense of belonging among nursing professionals. Future studies should strive for large, representative samples and carefully measure and account for confounding factors.