The growth of nursing professional values - A grounded theory

Background: The formation of nursing professional values is crucial to the development of the nursing profession, but it is influenced by various factors. The process of shaping nursing professional values in different growth contexts has been overlooked. In order to establish professional values in the context of Chinese nursing, it is necessary to investigate the evolution of nursing professional values throughout history. Purpose: To develop a theory of professional values growth from a nursing context. Design: This study adopted a grounded theory approach from Strauss and Corbin. Participants: From November 2021 to March 2022, a total of 33 participants were included. Methods: Data were collected using a semi-structured interview over telephone or online or face to face and were analysed using open, axial, and selective coding, with the help of MAXQDA 2020. Ethical Considerations: The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the China Medical University. All participants signed the informed consent and agreed to be interviewed before the study. Findings: The study has developed a theoretical construct of nursing professional values growth that consists of five dimensions: key aspects, decisive opportunities, drivers, embodiment, and shaping outcomes. And key aspects include four subcategories (the initial stage, the consciousness stage, the core stage, and the action stage). Decisive opportunities come from organisations and individuals. Drivers consist of social culture and self-trait, and embodiment covers two subcategories (humanism and ethical emotions). The last dimension is shaping outcomes, which consists of three subcategories (maintaining the original intention, professionalism, and instilling professional values). Discussion: The theory demonstrates the individual development process of nursing professional values in different interactive contexts, the context of its interaction with social and personal values is revealed, and the dynamics and mechanisms of the formation of personal psychological qualities in professional values from a nursing context are discovered. Conclusions: This theory reveals the mechanisms that shape nursing professional values and can provide guidance for the growth of nursing students' professional values.