THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF SOCIALIZATION TO PROFESSIONAL NURSING IN CANADA: AN EXISTENTIAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 127
Subjects: Education, Curriculum and Instruction.; Health Sciences, Education.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Aim of the study. The aim of this study was to uncover the meaning or structure of socialization to professional nursing as lived by nursing students in generic baccalaureate nursing programs in Canada.

Understanding the socialization to professional nursing as lived by students fosters among educators more attentiveness to the Being of students in their becoming the persons they want to be.

Method. Since the phenomenon has not been fully understood from the perspective of learners, the existential phenomenological perspective seemed to be the most desirable to follow. This approach provided a rich data base for the understanding of students' way of being-in-the-world. Open-ended interviews were conducted with twelve (12) participants, all recent (within the past five years) graduates from undergraduate nursing programs in Canada. All participants were employed at the time of the study in teaching health centers in eastern Canada. van Manen's phenomenological research approach was used as a guideline in conducting the study.

Findings. The descriptions of lived socialization to professional nursing generated five (5) essential themes and six (6) subsuming themes, the latter being necessary due to the complexity of the phenomenon being studied. The five essential themes were: (1) the decision to study nursing; (2) lived life with professors/ instructors; (3) clinical learning as lived experiences; (4) lived life with clinical nursing staff and patients; and (5) graduation and beyond. The six subsuming themes were: (1) growth; (2) affirmation; (3) celebration; (4) struggle; (5) survival; and (6) oppression.

Implications for nursing. The findings of this study have great significance to practice, research, education, and administration. Understanding the lived experiences of nursing students' socialization to professional nursing will invite educators to commit to helping their students develop critical consciousness, and to discover and choose themselves. It further beckons administrators, nurse practitioners, and nurse educators to engage students in dialogue about what it is like to be human, to grow, and to be. Educators and students will engage in transforming the nursing curriculum into one that is truly emancipating and liberating. The direction for further research points to conducting more studies on the same phenomenon, in different contexts and using different participants--most significantly more male nursing students.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-07, Section: A, page: 2545.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1995.

School code: 0055.