Professional Identity Development and Nursing

In recent years, a number of researches on professional identities of nurses have been carried out. professional identity is an indispensible point in nursing practices, and it forms a basis for becoming a profession of nursing. professional identity development is substantially completed in school education, but it also continues during the work life. inadequacy of professional identity development causes some problems such as not being able to have a voice, inadequacy in meeting the accepted standards of the profession, not being able to implement the nursing role successfully, having troubles in transition from studentship to public service, not being recognized by other members of the profession and inadequacy of correlating with the occupation. thus, it is stated that nurse educators and nurse managers should effectively evaluate this process to develop professional identities of nurses. with the purpose of contributing to literature, professional identity, development of the professional identity, elements forming the professional identity and suggestions for identity development was handled in this article.