using the hidden curriculum to teach professionalism in nursing students

background: professionalism in nursing is critical for creating credibility and a positive image. objectives: this study was carried out to explain the use of hidden curriculum in teaching professionalism in nursing students. materials and methods: this qualitative study was conducted through purposeful sampling strategy by the participation of 32 nursing students. the data were collected by using semi-structured interviews, and this process was continued until achieving data saturation and themes’ emergence. content analysis method was used for data analysis. results: data analysis revealed three main themes: development of understanding the professionalism elements, variety of influenceability strategies, and influenceability to various resources. each theme consisted of some subthemes. conclusions: the nursing students learnt the professionalism elements by different methods from different resources through the hidden curriculum. therefore, exploration of the currently administered hidden curricula is suggested.