Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr 21:11:23779608251335240.
doi: 10.1177/23779608251335240. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

Professional Identity in Nursing: A Narrative Review of the ISPIN Definition and Domains Usage

Sarah M Geoghan Marold  1 , Susan M Strouse  1 , Dan Butcher  2
Affiliations
Review

Professional Identity in Nursing: A Narrative Review of the ISPIN Definition and Domains Usage

Sarah M Geoghan Marold et al. SAGE Open Nurs. .

Abstract

Introduction: Established in 2020, the International Society for Professional Identity in Nursing (ISPIN) developed a definition of professional identity in nursing (PIN). This definition encompasses four domains: values and ethics, knowledge, nurse as leader, and professional comportment.

Objective: This narrative review aimed to summarize and synthesize identified published evidence, the extent of discussion of PIN domains, and literature gaps for the ISPIN definition of PIN.

Methods: Sources included peer-reviewed literature published between 2018 to 2025 from CINAHL and PubMed. Gray literature through Google Scholar and ISPIN archived publications were also searched. These were identified by two researchers and a PRISMA flow diagram was developed. No registered protocol was utilized. Search and MeSH terms included "professional identity," "nurs*," and "ISPIN."

Findings: Thirty-seven articles met inclusion criteria and were extracted from 16,295 initially identified articles, with the majority with authors from the United States. There were very few research papers and a noticeable dearth using quantitative methodologies. Twenty-eight of the retrieved articles were considered expert accounts, conceptual discussion or opinions, common for a relatively new concept.

Discussion: Nurse as leader was discussed in 34 of 37 articles. Professional comportment was discussed in 31 articles. Both knowledge and value and ethics were discussed in 28 articles.

Conclusion: This narrative review highlights the nature and prevalence of the ISPIN definitions and its four domains in current literature and can be visualized through diagramming. Minimal quantitative studies and a higher volume of discussion articles present limitations to its strength and applicability. Results suggests the need for further research in all domains, particularly in knowledge and values and ethics, and its implications in strengthening nursing practice and education.

Keywords: knowledge; nurse as leader; professional comportment; professional identity in nursing; values and ethics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA Flow Diagram (PRISMA, 2020).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Diagram of the Four Domains of Professional Identity in Nursing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Allen E. (2021). Supporting the generation Z nursing student in professional identity formation: Dean’s notes. Dean’s Notes, 43(2), 1–3.
    1. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The Essentials: Core Competencies for professional nursing education. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf
    1. Bae S.-H. (2023). Comprehensive assessment of factors contributing to the actual turnover of newly licensed registered nurses working in acute care hospitals: a systematic review. BMC Nursing, 22(1). 10.1186/s12912-023-01190-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bakhshi M., Alvarez T. D., Cook K. (2022). CGFNS Nurse Migration Report 2022: Trends in Healthcare Migration to the United States. Online Report. CGFNS International. www.cgfns.org/2022nursemigrationreport.
    1. Brenan M., Jones J. (2024). Ethics Ratings of Nearly All Professions Down in U.S. Gallup, Inc. https://news.gallup.com/poll/608903/ethics-ratings-nearly-professions-do...

LinkOut - more resources