Tually asked me if I (implemented treatment) and I was like, I have done this before! It was a little like patronizing. I did not like being patronized in that sense. We are not newbies. We have been around.” “We aren’t newbie’s. We do bring experience . . .. I’m still very proud of the work I do as an LPN. I already feel I do think like an RN. (It’s) very frustrating and almost devalues the work that I’ve already put into the profession.” “(In one course) the textbook was the exact same textbook that I used in my LPN course. Same cover, same everything. I found that so frustrating because I thought, I’ve read this textbook already.” In sum, Post LPN to BN students in our study expressed that they already viewed themselves as professional nurses. They were not “becoming nurses” by attending a university. One nurse offered this advice to those involved with educating this group of learners: “It’s extremely important when you are an adult learner to be treated as such. When you disregard our previous skill and knowledge, it’s a blow to our ego, it’s degrading.” 4.2. Theme Two: Practicum Interactions with Instructors and New Clinical Experiences Are Key Socializing Agents. When CV205-502 hydrochlorideMedChemExpress CV205-502 hydrochloride participants in this study reflected on changes and growth in their professional identity, it was the practicum interactions with instructors and the opportunities for new experiences that stood out for them as particularly meaningful. Students consistently emphasized that they viewed the LPN and RN roles as similar during the focus group discussions. During the practical components of their program, it was especially important to receive legitimation from others that they were truly extending their existing “nurse” identity. Many students expressed that they did not feel different:4. Results4.1. Theme One: Post LPN to BN Students Need Little, If Any, Further Legitimation to Affirm Their Identities as “Nurse.” Without exception, participants in this project all commented on how they felt as though their identity as a “nurse” was well established before they entered the Post LPN to BN program. When invited to discuss memories of times when they felt affirmed in their identity as a “nurse,” several participants commented on skills they AKB-6548MedChemExpress Vadadustat mastered in their practice as LPNs, for example: “When I gave my first injection–that was like– I’m a nurse!” “I know it’s the silliest thing, but doing the hospital corners for me was . . . very sentimental–I felt very nursy.” “The gross stuff-wounds.” Participants discussed how others’ expressions of trust in their knowledge also legitimized their identity as “nurse”: “Collaborating with the physicians. At my work, I would say I need this ordered, Dr . . . and he’ll just say, okay, it’s ordered. And then it seems like I make the decision and I just need his signature.” “When the client would appreciate the care that you provide them, and also the family. They will speak with you and then thank you for whatever you did.”Nursing Research and Practice “I think what’s changing is how other people look at you more than how I feel, how other people treat you and how willing they are to give you responsibility versus how I ever felt.” “I do not feel different myself. But people react to you differently. People are willing to give you more responsibility because you are going through the RN program.” “I’ve noticed it’s more external in how people treat you versus how you feel.” “I do not feel different myself. But people react to you diffe.Tually asked me if I (implemented treatment) and I was like, I have done this before! It was a little like patronizing. I did not like being patronized in that sense. We are not newbies. We have been around.” “We aren’t newbie’s. We do bring experience . . .. I’m still very proud of the work I do as an LPN. I already feel I do think like an RN. (It’s) very frustrating and almost devalues the work that I’ve already put into the profession.” “(In one course) the textbook was the exact same textbook that I used in my LPN course. Same cover, same everything. I found that so frustrating because I thought, I’ve read this textbook already.” In sum, Post LPN to BN students in our study expressed that they already viewed themselves as professional nurses. They were not “becoming nurses” by attending a university. One nurse offered this advice to those involved with educating this group of learners: “It’s extremely important when you are an adult learner to be treated as such. When you disregard our previous skill and knowledge, it’s a blow to our ego, it’s degrading.” 4.2. Theme Two: Practicum Interactions with Instructors and New Clinical Experiences Are Key Socializing Agents. When participants in this study reflected on changes and growth in their professional identity, it was the practicum interactions with instructors and the opportunities for new experiences that stood out for them as particularly meaningful. Students consistently emphasized that they viewed the LPN and RN roles as similar during the focus group discussions. During the practical components of their program, it was especially important to receive legitimation from others that they were truly extending their existing “nurse” identity. Many students expressed that they did not feel different:4. Results4.1. Theme One: Post LPN to BN Students Need Little, If Any, Further Legitimation to Affirm Their Identities as “Nurse.” Without exception, participants in this project all commented on how they felt as though their identity as a “nurse” was well established before they entered the Post LPN to BN program. When invited to discuss memories of times when they felt affirmed in their identity as a “nurse,” several participants commented on skills they mastered in their practice as LPNs, for example: “When I gave my first injection–that was like– I’m a nurse!” “I know it’s the silliest thing, but doing the hospital corners for me was . . . very sentimental–I felt very nursy.” “The gross stuff-wounds.” Participants discussed how others’ expressions of trust in their knowledge also legitimized their identity as “nurse”: “Collaborating with the physicians. At my work, I would say I need this ordered, Dr . . . and he’ll just say, okay, it’s ordered. And then it seems like I make the decision and I just need his signature.” “When the client would appreciate the care that you provide them, and also the family. They will speak with you and then thank you for whatever you did.”Nursing Research and Practice “I think what’s changing is how other people look at you more than how I feel, how other people treat you and how willing they are to give you responsibility versus how I ever felt.” “I do not feel different myself. But people react to you differently. People are willing to give you more responsibility because you are going through the RN program.” “I’ve noticed it’s more external in how people treat you versus how you feel.” “I do not feel different myself. But people react to you diffe.
