Purple, green and blue: Exploring mental health student nurses’ narration of their own professional identity

Bowring-Lossock, Fiona 2024. Purple, green and blue: Exploring mental health student nurses’ narration of their own professional identity. EdD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Defining mental health nursing is challenging. For nursing students this can be frustrating, fuelling uncertainties of identity, affecting a sense of belonging. This may contribute to attrition, currently around 25% in the UK. Determining students’ narration of professional identity might help understand how they become mental health nursing students, potentially useful in addressing issues of attrition. The COVID-19 pandemic completely changed the education of nursing students UK-wide. It is reasonable to suppose such changes would affect students’ sense of identity. Using a case study approach, underpinned by an interpretive-constructivist framework, I employed Wenger’s (1998) Social Theory of Learning to analyse data from two pre-pandemic focus groups, and from two mid-pandemic interviews. These were conducted with undergraduate mental health nursing students at one university, post university-based Interprofessional Education (IPE). The interviews were conducted during their National Health Service COVID-19 deployment. Further data gathering was curtailed by the pandemic. Focus group findings indicated that students narrated their identities through practice, on the peripheries of mental health nursing communities, as they learnt to become and belong, managing the unpredictability of mental health nursing. Innately held qualities and attributes supported this, often strengthened by previous care work experience. Resilience and a high tolerance threshold was important, notably, when experiencing incivility from staff. IPE encouraged learning with, from and about other professional groups and facilitated reflection on self-identity. The interviews revealed the distress students experienced before deployment, feeling isolated and unprepared. Once deployed, they felt superfluous, uncertain of their status as student/employee. Although there were some positives, such as developing fortitude and managing uncertainty, on balance, they would have preferred to retain full student status. Research conclusions are fourfold. Students should be supported to define their identities through their developing mental health nursing skills and knowledge. Issues of staff incivility towards students must be addressed. IPE can facilitate understanding of self and others. Students must be prepared for deployment in public health crises.

Item Type:	Thesis (EdD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 January 2025
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2025 11:28
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175173

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