The Italian nursing perception of itself: a qualitative study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In last decades, the nursing profession had risen a series of important goals and achievements, especially in a legislative way. Despite it, the general perception, but also the nursing vision of itself, had also remained stereotyped and old-fashioned.

AIM: The purpose of this study consisted in the evaluation of nurses’ perception of themselves.

METHODS: A thematic secondary analysis from a large cross-sectional study has been conducted. For this study, perceptions have been selected from who had answered at the last open question, after the declaration to be an Italian nurse.

RESULTS: Italian nurses perceived a lack of them potentiality recognition both internally and externally. They feel themselves as frustrated and demotivated in a demanding work contest, less retributed and into a non-patient-based organization.

CONCLUSIONS: To uniform and claim a current and truthful nursing imagine, there have been identified modifiable internal and external factors. Rising the own potentiality awareness, from the university, could make a really rule consciousness of new nurses’ generation. An interprofessional collaboration development could make nurses professionality visible into the healthcare team. Finally, educating general population about the nursing work could make consciousness of the real importance of this figure into health care system.