Social representations of nurses. Differences between incoming and outgoing Nursing students

Abstract

Objective. This article explored and compared social representations of nurses held by incoming and outgoing Nursing students in the Technical Nursing Program in San Juan, Argentina. Methods. Our research was descriptive and utilized the prototypicality method of analysis for social representations, from a structural approach. The sample was made up of 194 students (104 incoming and 90 outgoing), to whom we applied the word association technique for the term “nurse”. Results. Differences were found in the representations that incoming and outgoing students had. i) For incoming students: we observe a wide and general concept of a nurse, expressed in non-specific terms such as “health” in the central core, while for outgoing students the term “care” emerged; ii) We infer distancing from the hegemonic medical model on the part of outgoing students, as well as an emphasis on the relational, as terms such as “vocation”, “humanization”, “love” and “empathy” are evoked, while the term “illness” decreases; iii) We understand that outgoing students highlight their autonomy with respect to doctors and nursing as a profession with the term “professional” with no mention of “assistance”, “help” and “assistant”, terms which did appear with incoming students; iv) Outgoing students convey a sense of a nurse’s diverse roles that go beyond the hospital setting, as instead of mentioning “hospital” and “injection” like incoming students, they mention “prevention” and “research”. Conclusion. The comparison of representative structures held by incoming and outgoing students suggests a transformation of self-image through a process of academic education.How to cite this article: : Bastias F, Giménez I, Fabaro P, Ariza J, Caño-Nappa MJ. Social representations of nurses. Differences between incoming and outgoing Nursing students. Invest. Educ. Enferm. 2020; 38(1):e05.

Current Social Perception of and Value Attached to Nursing Professionals’ Competences: An Integrative Review

“…A number of studies detected widespread ignorance of nursing functions, activities, and roles, and an inability to differentiate them from those exercised by doctors [23,32,33]. However, other studies report that nursing is viewed as a health sciences profession [33] whose primary mission is to care or deliver care [22,28,33,34].…”

“…A number of studies detected widespread ignorance of nursing functions, activities, and roles, and an inability to differentiate them from those exercised by doctors [23,32,33]. However, other studies report that nursing is viewed as a health sciences profession [33] whose primary mission is to care or deliver care [22,28,33,34]. Care is understood as the delivery of help, assistance, and services to patients and sick people, for whom nurses should act as resources during their processes [22,26,34].…”

“…Nursing is understood as a profession that operates primarily in the clinical setting. There is a tendency to perceive the nursing profession as existing primarily within hospitals [28,33,34]. As a result, the hospital setting is the main symbol representing nursing, as it is viewed as the physical space in which most nurses deliver care [28,33].…”

“…There is a tendency to perceive the nursing profession as existing primarily within hospitals [28,33,34]. As a result, the hospital setting is the main symbol representing nursing, as it is viewed as the physical space in which most nurses deliver care [28,33]. Other symbols include the uniform or clothing that nurses tend to wear in hospitals [26] and the equipment and instruments they use on a daily basis: stethoscope, gloves, etc.…”

Knowledge and practices of Primary Care professionals on diabetic neuropathy: study of social representations

“…Being a strong field of interest in social psychology, centered on the domain of science, TSR fulfills a behavioral functionality, based on the understanding of individuals on topics that affect their daily lives (17)(18) . In view of this, SR have a practical objective that implies actions, as evidenced in different researches (23)(24)(25)29) , developed, also, in the international scope (36)(37) .…”