Professional identity in psychiatric nursing: a qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions and influencing factors

Nasrin  Rezaee; Leila  Mohammadifard; Sally Pezaro; Marjan  Mardani- Hamooleh

doi:10.1186/s12912-026-04831-5

Professional identity in psychiatric nursing: a qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions and influencing factors

Nasrin Rezaee
, Leila Mohammadifard
, Sally Pezaro
, Marjan Mardani- Hamooleh

Centre for Healthcare and Community Transformation

Zahedan University of Medical Sciences
Jahrom University of Medical Sciences
Iran University of Medical Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Background
Professional identity in nursing enhances understanding of the profession, acceptance of professional roles, and self-awareness, enhancing patient care overall. Here, we aimed to explore the professional identity of nurses within psychiatric environments.

Methods
We employed a qualitative descriptive design. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses (n = 28) working in psychiatric wards. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis.

Results
Data analysis identified professional identity as a central construct, primarily expressed through ethical excellence, and shaped by internal (professional interaction) and external (cultural threats, organizational and social support) influences.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that professional identity is a foundational characteristic of psychiatric nursing, grounded in ethical excellence and shaped by professional and sociocultural influences. Professional identity emerged as a morally grounded and socially negotiated construct, continuously shaped by dynamic interactions within clinical and societal contexts. These findings offer a strategic framework for nursing policymakers to strengthen professional resilience within psychiatric care.

Original language	English
Article number	680
Pages (from-to)	(In-Press)
Number of pages	33
Journal	BMC Nursing
Volume	25
Issue number	1
Early online date	29 May 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-04831-5
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 29 May 2026

Bibliographical note

© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Keywords

Qualitative research
Professional identity
Nursing
Psychiatry

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10.1186/s12912-026-04831-5Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Pezaro2026VoRFinal published version, 893 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "Background Professional identity in nursing enhances understanding of the profession, acceptance of professional roles, and self-awareness, enhancing patient care overall. Here, we aimed to explore the professional identity of nurses within psychiatric environments. Methods We employed a qualitative descriptive design. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses (n = 28) working in psychiatric wards. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results Data analysis identified professional identity as a central construct, primarily expressed through ethical excellence, and shaped by internal (professional interaction) and external (cultural threats, organizational and social support) influences. Conclusions This study demonstrates that professional identity is a foundational characteristic of psychiatric nursing, grounded in ethical excellence and shaped by professional and sociocultural influences. Professional identity emerged as a morally grounded and socially negotiated construct, continuously shaped by dynamic interactions within clinical and societal contexts. These findings offer a strategic framework for nursing policymakers to strengthen professional resilience within psychiatric care.",

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N2 - Background Professional identity in nursing enhances understanding of the profession, acceptance of professional roles, and self-awareness, enhancing patient care overall. Here, we aimed to explore the professional identity of nurses within psychiatric environments. Methods We employed a qualitative descriptive design. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses (n = 28) working in psychiatric wards. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. Results Data analysis identified professional identity as a central construct, primarily expressed through ethical excellence, and shaped by internal (professional interaction) and external (cultural threats, organizational and social support) influences. Conclusions This study demonstrates that professional identity is a foundational characteristic of psychiatric nursing, grounded in ethical excellence and shaped by professional and sociocultural influences. Professional identity emerged as a morally grounded and socially negotiated construct, continuously shaped by dynamic interactions within clinical and societal contexts. These findings offer a strategic framework for nursing policymakers to strengthen professional resilience within psychiatric care.

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Professional identity in psychiatric nursing: a qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions and influencing factors

Abstract

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Keywords

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