The Role of Educational Activities on Professional Socialization of Nursing Students: A Review Study

Professional socialization is an essential process of learning skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to fulfill professional roles. The consequences of professional socialization are widely varied and influenced by personal, situational and organizational factors. The aim of this study was to review the role of educational activities on professional socialization of nursing students.

This narrative review study was carried out by searching library resources and the databases of CINAHL, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Elsevier, SID, and Magiran for articles published during 2002-17. The keywords used for the search included socialization, professional, educational activity, and nursing students. Preliminary results yielded 106 articles of which 10 articles were selected for the review.

Contemporary studies show that professional socialization of nursing students is influenced by different factors among which the role of mentors, peers and effective role models is of great importance. Personal experiences and the role of clinical trainers are also important in facilitating students’ learning development and socialization.

Improvement and organization of the educational system and focus on selection of effective and interested clinical trainers, as well as utilization of mentors, peers and effective role models are the proposed solutions to facilitate and promote the professional socialization of nursing students.