Caring: The socialisation of pre-registration student nurses: A longitudinal qualitative descriptive study

An under recognised dichotomy between the caring ethos of professional nursing and the professional socialisation processes student nurses are subject to is identified, which directly mitigate against the individual nurses abilities to care.

Abstract

Identified changes between data collection stages suggest socialisation results in a loss of idealism about care within nursing, as well as the identification of negative aspects of care. Loss of care is linked to increased abilities to cope with the nursing role, although this is not uniform and some participants clearly discriminate and reject negative exposures. In conclusion this study identifies an under recognised dichotomy between the caring ethos of professional nursing and the professional socialisation processes student nurses are subject to, which directly mitigate against the individual nurses abilities to care.