National Study of Nursing Faculty and Administrators' Perceptions of Professional Identity in Nursing

Abstract

Background Establishing a professional identity in nursing is integral to professional development, yet this area of inquiry remains understudied. Purpose This segment of a multiphased national study measured nursing faculty's perceived level of importance regarding key components of professional identity in nursing using the newly developed Professional Identity in Nursing Survey (PINS). Methods Fifty subject matter experts from nursing education, practice, and regulation utilized the DeVellis scale development process to develop the PINS over the course of 2 years. Nearly 1200 nurse educators evaluated the importance of a 34-item scale relating to professional identity in nursing. Results At endorsement of 95% or greater, 28 items were found to be important components of nursing identity. Effective communication, integrity, and being trustworthy and respectful were reported as most important to nursing identity. Conclusions Nurse educators identified the important items to assess professional identity in nursing. Item refinement and psychometric evaluation of the survey are the next phase of the multiphased study.