Professional Socialization of Nurses in Humanized Care: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Professional socialization of nurses is the process of transferring knowledge, skills, techniques, attitudes, and values among nursing professionals in order to enhance their capacity consistently. The objective of this research was to study the professional socialization of nurses in humanized care in 2 phases: in a nursing study phase, and in a nursing professional phase. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was implemented in the form of a qualitative study by using an in-depth interview technique for the data collection. The informants of the study were 12 professional nurses who were granted the Award of Ratchaphiphat Role Model of Best Moral Practice. RESULTS: During the nursing study phase, it was found that the professional socialization of nurses operated through course content, teaching management, extra-curricular activities, the interaction between nursing instructors and students, interaction among peers, observation of nursing instructors, and observation of nurses. On the other hand, in the nursing professional phase, professional socialization is performed through orientation, on-the-job training, supervision, ethical and moral promoting activities, and interaction with and observation of colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings, some recommendations were proposed as guidelines to develop nursing educational management for promoting humanized care in the development of nursing students and professionals.