Abstract
BACKGROUND: This thesis explores the 21st Century student nurse journey of professional socialisation in compassionate practice. The concept of compassion in nursing is currently under the spotlight following reports that indicate a lack of compassion within UK nursing care. Compassionate practice is a requirement within nursing and a stipulated expectation of student nurse professional preparation, and yet compassion is a complex and contested concept. METHOD: Using qualitative methodology, a Glaserian Grounded Theory study was completed that involved in depth individual interviews with nineteen student nurses in the North of England over an eighteen month period. Through the iterative process of constant comparison, theoretical sampling, coding and comparing themes from within the student interview data, a new Grounded Theory of student nurse socialisation in compassionate practice was identified. Supplementary data from interviews with five nurse teachers and the NHS patient and staff surveys from within the students’ geographical area of practice contributed to the discussion. FINDINGS: Students reported exposure to variability in practice and a lack of understanding about expectations of the Registered Nurse role and emotional labour boundaries, within the enactment of compassionate practice. This left them feeling vulnerable and uncertain of their future. They experienced dissonance between the professional ideal of compassionate practice and the practice reality they witnessed. Students managed the dissonance by balancing their intentions: to uphold the compassionate practice ideal or relinquish it in order to survive reality when they became a Registered Nurse. CONCLUSIONS: Student nurse socialisation in compassionate practice involves managing the uncertainty and vulnerability associated with dissonance between professional ideals and practice reality, leaving student nurses balancing their intentions towards or away from compassionate practice. This new Grounded Theory has important implications in relation to nurse education and nursing practice where compassionate practice is an expectation of 21st Century nursing.