Abstract
Objectives
To examine graduate students’ perceptions of their nursing professional identity within the university-based educational system.
Methods
A qualitative phenomenological approach was adopted involving the completion of in-depth interviews and focus groups among master’s degree students in Morocco.
Results
The shift to university-based nursing education system was associated with the development of a positive self-image, sense of empowerment, and attachment to professional values in addition to role extension and involvement in research.
Conclusions
The perceived external barriers such as negative social image, role ambiguity, and unsupportive work environments, limit the reach of the positive influence of the educational shift and may lead to doubts in integrating the clinical workspace.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express gratitude to all the participants for their valuable contribution to this study. The first author acknowledges the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) of Morocco for its financial support through its excellence scholarship.
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Research funding: None declared. This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors
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Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
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Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
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Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study participants were informed of the purpose of the study and expressed voluntary consent to their participation in the research and the audio recordings of the interviews and focus groups. Participants were informed that they could access the written transcripts as well as withdraw their consent anytime during or after the realization of the interview or focus group. Participant anonymity was respected and signifiers within transcripts that may direct to the identity of participants were removed such as specific names of persons, areas, or locations.
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Ethical approval: The research related to human use has complied with the relevant national regulations, institutional policies, and in accordance with tenets of the Helsinki declaration, and has been approved by the authors institutional review board or equivalent comittee.
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