Tóm tắt
Background: Professional identity is increasingly recognized as a critical determinant of nursing students’ readiness for practice and long-term professional commitment. Although previous studies have examined these constructs separately, limited qualitative evidence has explained how professional identity develops during the transition toward professional practice, particularly within the Vietnamese educational context.
Objectives: To explore how professional identity develops alongside readiness for practice among final-year nursing students, and to identify critical experiences shaping students’ readiness for future professional practice.
Materials and methods: A qualitative study was conducted among 18 final-year nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, Van Lang University, Vietnam. Purposive sampling was undertaken between March and July 2026, during which semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis guided by the Professional Identity Formation (PIF) framework and Transition Theory.
Results: Participants described professional identity as developing gradually through their clinical education rather than as a stable personal characteristic. Participants described moving from choosing nursing for external reasons to gradually internalising professional values. Key experiences during the transition, including successful performance of complex clinical procedures, recognition from patients, workplace criticism, and encounters with patient death, became important turning points that strengthened self-efficacy, ethical reflection, professional responsibility, and empathy. Although participants generally perceived themselves as clinically prepared (approximately 60-80% readiness), uncertainty about making independent clinical decisions and legal accountability remained one of the main challenges to full readiness for professional practice.
Conclusion: Professional identity formation and readiness for practice were closely linked as final-year nursing students prepared for entry into professional nursing practice. Educational strategies that incorporate reflective learning, simulation-based education, and supportive clinical mentorship may support professional identity formation and improve graduates’ readiness for independent professional practice.
| Đã xuất bản | 15-11-2026 | |
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| Số tạp chí | Tập 16 Số S-3 (2026) | |
| Phân mục | Nghiên cứu | |
| DOI | 10.34071/jmp.2026.S-3.2 | |
| Từ khóa | professional identity, professional identity formation, nursing students, readiness for practice, transition theory, qualitative research |
công trình này được cấp phép theo Creative Commons Attribution-phi thương mại-NoDerivatives 4.0 License International .
Bản quyền (c) 2026 Hue Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy
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