Abstract
Abstract Objective In today's world with sweeping changes, nurses are responsible for providing high-quality and cost-benefit care, which would almost be impossible unless they achieve their high professional status. To date, no precise and comprehensive definition of professionalism in nursing has been evidently proposed. In fact, many of the previously proposed definitions are either complicated or ambiguous. Moreover, there is no consensus in the literature on an exhaustive definition for “a professional nurse.” The present study aimed to illustrate the concept of professionalism in nursing and identify its defining characteristics. Methods In this study, concept analysis was conducted using Whittemore et al.'s method for the integrated review. A comprehensive search of electronic, scientific databases including Eric, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, PsychoINFO, Embass, MagIran, IranDoc, SID, and IRANMEDEX was carried out using the keywords such as professionalism, professional behavior, nursing professionalism (NP), professional attribute, and nursing. Results In the present study, a comprehensive search of 11 electronic databases retrieved 5738 articles. Then, 2837 duplicate articles were removed by endnote (version 8). Based on a preliminary examination of the titles and abstracts as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1517 articles were excluded. In addition, 137 articles were removed for scientific reasons. Finally, 52 articles in English and Persian were selected. Content analysis of the articles revealed four major themes, namely, individual prerequisite, professional prerequisite, appropriate structure, and socio-individual factors. Conclusions Professionalism in nursing is a major, multidimensional concept according to the literature that included individual prerequisites, professional prerequisites, appropriate structures, and socio-individual factors. In fact, professionalism in nursing comprises a wide range of personal characteristics, self-regulation, professional values, striving to acquire and enhance professional expertise, professional interactions, social, professional, and legal responsibility, and creation of a sense of belonging, and professional development.
Highlights
Numerous attempts have been made to define nursing professionalism (NP)
Professionalism in nursing is a major, multidimensional concept according to the literature that included individual prerequisites, professional prerequisites, appropriate structures, and socio-individual factors
The findings indicated that professionalism was significantly associated with years of experience as a registered nurse, higher educational degrees in nursing, membership in organizations, service as an officer in the organization, and specialty certification
Summary
Numerous attempts have been made to define nursing professionalism (NP). It might seem easy to propose a clear definition, offering a comprehensive one has been very difficult. several researchers of different disciplines have provided many definitions for professionalism. Flexner (1910) described professionals as individuals with a specific career, knowledge beyond their basic education, and high levels of intellectual performance, responsibility, scientific and specialized knowledge, How to cite this article: Azemian A, Ebadi A, Afshar L. Redefining the concept of professionalism in nursing: an integrative review.
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