Professional socialisation in nursing : experiences of new and established nursing staff in response to patient death

This paper describes one component; professional socialisation, from the findings of a larger study exploring the responses of Registered Nurses and healthcare support workers to patient death in an acute hospital setting. Professional socialization involves the acquisition of knowledge and skills of a particular profession, and the adoption of values and norms leading to the development of behaviours and self-concept that are indicative of the characteristics necessary for the role taken at work. It is recognised that there is a strong desire for nurses to feel part of a team and as a result conform to existing practices and routines in order to be accepted. A Heiddegarian phenomenological approach was used to gather and analyse data through individual interviews. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling from two medical wards in a large teaching hospital in the United Kingdom. It was found that recently qualified Registered Nurses felt they should not show their emotions or discuss their feelings with certain colleagues. In order to be accepted by established staff on the ward they felt they needed to conform to behaviours they believed would be acceptable. Some of the more experienced Registered Nurses and healthcare support workers showed their emotions and talked about events to colleagues expressing the benefits they perceived of doing this for both themselves and others. This demonstrates that newly qualified staff were not always correct in their assumptions of what was considered the norm in these situations. Some of the newer Registered Nurses felt they needed to be more rigid in their behaviours, and were reluctant to challenge medical staff regarding active treatments. These differences could be due to established Registered Nurses feeling secure and comfortable in their professional roles, and being clear on the values they hold. More inexperienced Registered Nurses could be lacking in both knowledge and skills, as well as being unsure of their professional role. Keywords: Professional Socialisation, Belongingness, Self Image, Nursing, Sense of belonging, Professional Identity