Abstract
Background: Nursing professional identity (PIN) defines the values and actions of nurses. It is important to study nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity because it communicates what nursing is. There is a gap in knowledge about ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of PIN.
Methods: The purpose of this study was to describe ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity in themselves and their peers and determine differences based on demographics. An exploratory, descriptive, comparative design was used to address the two study aims. Participants were recruited from AAACN and STTI and completed the Professional Identity in Nursing Scale.
Results: One hundred seventeen nurses responded to the survey. The domain with the highest mean score was values and ethics for self (4.27) and peers (3.6). The domain with the lowest mean score was professional comportment for self (4.02) and leadership for peers (3.36). Overall, the highest rating for an individual item was trustworthiness in the leadership domain for self (4.5). Age differences were statistically significant in the values and ethics domain for self (p=.014) and the knowledge domain for self (p=.012). Differences in mean scores in leadership for self were noted based on education (p=.05) as well as a statistically significant correlation between years of nursing and the values and ethics domain for self (r=.25, p=.011).
Conclusion/Implications for Practice: Competency ratings of 30 items in the four professional identity domains of values and ethics, knowledge, leadership, and professional comportment highlighted the strength of nursing’s values and ethics as well as opportunities for growth in their professional comportment and leadership. Ambulatory care nurses, individually and collectively, have an obligation to heighten the professional identity of the specialty of ambulatory care nursing
Notes
References:
Godfrey, N., & Young, E. (2021). Professional Identity. In J. Giddens (Ed.), Concepts of nursing practice (3rd ed., pp. 363-370). Elsevier Publishing.
Godfrey, N., & Joseph, M. L. (2023). Rebuilding professional identity: The time is now. Nurse Leader, 21(2), 179–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.12.010
Joseph, M. L. & Godfrey, N. (2023, April). A new mindset: From tasks to professional identity. Nurse Leader, 21(2), 183-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.12.007
International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing (ISPIN). (2025). Background. https://www.professionalidentity.org/background
Landis, T., Barbosa-Leiker, C., Clark, C., & Godfrey, N. (2024). Professional Identity in Nursing Scale 2.0: A national study of nurses' professional identity and psychometric properties. Journal of Professional Nursing: Official Journal of the
American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 50, 61–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.11.004
Sigma Membership
Theta Epsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Exploratory
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Primary Care, Workforce, Policy and Advocacy, Provessional Identity, Ambulatory Care Nursing
Recommended Citation
Fowler, Susan B., "Perceptions of Professional Identity in Nursing by Ambulatory Care Nurses" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 334.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/334
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-09-27
Perceptions of Professional Identity in Nursing by Ambulatory Care Nurses
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Nursing professional identity (PIN) defines the values and actions of nurses. It is important to study nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity because it communicates what nursing is. There is a gap in knowledge about ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of PIN.
Methods: The purpose of this study was to describe ambulatory care nurses’ perceptions of their professional identity in themselves and their peers and determine differences based on demographics. An exploratory, descriptive, comparative design was used to address the two study aims. Participants were recruited from AAACN and STTI and completed the Professional Identity in Nursing Scale.
Results: One hundred seventeen nurses responded to the survey. The domain with the highest mean score was values and ethics for self (4.27) and peers (3.6). The domain with the lowest mean score was professional comportment for self (4.02) and leadership for peers (3.36). Overall, the highest rating for an individual item was trustworthiness in the leadership domain for self (4.5). Age differences were statistically significant in the values and ethics domain for self (p=.014) and the knowledge domain for self (p=.012). Differences in mean scores in leadership for self were noted based on education (p=.05) as well as a statistically significant correlation between years of nursing and the values and ethics domain for self (r=.25, p=.011).
Conclusion/Implications for Practice: Competency ratings of 30 items in the four professional identity domains of values and ethics, knowledge, leadership, and professional comportment highlighted the strength of nursing’s values and ethics as well as opportunities for growth in their professional comportment and leadership. Ambulatory care nurses, individually and collectively, have an obligation to heighten the professional identity of the specialty of ambulatory care nursing
Description
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to discuss the meaning of professional identity in nursing (PIN) and describe PIN characteristics in ambulatory care nurses with future directions to advance the specialty and profession.