Developing Professional Identity in Critical Care Nursing: A Mixed Methods Study Using Translational Research

Keywords

critical care, professional identity, nursing education, simulation, nursing workforce, translational research, translational science, intensive care, deliberate practice, competency, readiness for practice, skill development, mixed methods, nurse

Abstract

Background

Professional identity is foundational to nursing students’ readiness for high-acuity practice, yet prelicensure curricula often lack structured opportunities for learners to internalize the expectations, values, and cognitive demands of critical care nursing. Simulation-based learning may offer a developmentally meaningful pathway for early identity formation. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a multimodal critical care simulation-based learning experience may have influenced the development of an emerging professional identity.

Methods

An explanatory mixed-methods design examined how a multimodal critical care simulation-based learning experience, structured across SimZones 1-2, influenced senior nursing students’ emerging professional identity. Students (n = 113) completed a three-day simulation-based learning experience with two spaced practice sessions. Quantitative data captured confidence-based judgments of readiness across eight high-acuity procedures. Narrative reflections were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and findings were integrated using a joint display.

Results

Results indicated increases in students’ confidence-based judgments, interpreted as perceived readiness and reflecting underlying task-specific self-efficacy for high-acuity procedures. Qualitative findings revealed three identity-development themes: Being a Critical Care Nurse (early identity adoption), Doing Critical Care Interventions (identity enactment), and Thinking Like a Critical Care Nurse (identity consolidation).

Conclusion

A critical care simulation-based learning experience supports early professional identity formation by immersing learners in authentic practice expectations, structured feedback, and guided reflection, offering a promising model for enhancing readiness for high-acuity nursing roles.

Original Publication Citation

Drake, J., Watson, A. L., & Snow, G. (2026). Developing professional identity in critical care nursing: A mixed methods study using translational research. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 114, 101942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2026.101942

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2026-05-01

Publisher

Clinical Simulation in Nursing

Language

English

College

Nursing

Department

Nursing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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