Damaged professional identity as a barrier to Iranian nursing student's clinical learning: a qualitative study

Damaged nurses’ professional identity is caused dissatisfaction for nursing students in learning environment. Then، their behavioral disorders will be weak clinic care function، motivation decrease، a little attempting for learning in nursing care and a low pleasure in learning environment. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of professional identity on nursing students’ clinical learning. In this analytic-discriptive study، a purposive sample of 25 nursing students was selected from the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities. Data were collected using the semi- structured interview method. Study data were analyzed by employing the conventional qualitative content analysis approach. The current findings fell into one main theme entitled damaged professional identity. This theme consisted of two categories: ‘trampled individual and social status’ and ‘nurses’ inability to make their voices heard’. Nursing educators and managers can use the study findings to develop strategies for promoting students professional identity and clinical learning using damaged professional identity model.