AND THEN I ASK THE COMMUNITY - NURSING PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Abstract

"Virtual Communities of Practice in the context of nursing - understood as interest-based associations of people who exchange nursing knowledge and nursing experiences using online platforms - also develop their significance in case of professional identity development. ""What does it mean to be a nursing professional?"" is a central question in the nursing education context, in which the foundation for the development of a professional identity is laid. While findings already exist regarding the development of nursing professional identity in the context of different learning places (nursing school and nursing practice), it’s still open, how the participation in virtual Communities of Practice can influence the development of professional identity already in the context of nursing education. This research project explores the following questions: Which nursing related themes show up in the context of virtual Communities of Practice? How the process of nursing professional identity development is influenced by the participation of nursing scholars in virtual Communities of Practice? Which meaning the learners attribute to the participation in virtual Communities of Practice with regard to the formation of nursing professional identity? The goal of the study is to develop the virtual Community of Practice as a learning space that supports the process of identity formation already in nursing education. Furthermore, the findings will be used to shed light on the medial reality of nursing scholars and to derive curricular consequences. Within the framework of a netnographic research design, data collection will be conducted via field observations of community activities and will additionally be supplemented by focused individual interviews with community members. In the context of data analysis, the documentary method will be used in addition to the production of dense descriptions."