LAUSR

AIMS The aim of this study was to examine professional identity through the group performances of nurses within a specific work environment. BACKGROUND Professional identity and social identity are closely linked. Nurses undertake clinical practice usually within a social group environment. The literature is limited on the development of professional identity within the context of nurses' daily work. DESIGN An integrated ethnographic case context design was adopted, consisting of two clinical wards in one acute health-care facility in Australia. The application of the social identity theory (SIT) was used to study two specific professional activities to describe the group performance of nurses within this organizational cultural context and how this influenced nurses' professional identity. METHOD The research was undertaken between 2012 and 2014. Data collection included observation, interviews and fieldnotes of a convenience sample of nurses and allied health-care professionals who undertook two professional activities in their normal work environment. FINDINGS The development of group efficacy contributed to the development of the professional identity in the homogenous handover activity. Self-efficacy was demonstrated in the heterogenous multidisciplinary activity. CONCLUSION The results indicated the importance of recognizing core identity-building activities and understanding the value of these activities to professional identity development.