Factors Affecting the Professional Socialization of Nursing: Barriers and Solutions

Background: Socialization is defined as a complex process of learning and internalizing values, beliefs, knowledge and norms of a specific profession which forms a solid identity. This study aimed to review the previous publications which have examined the barriers and solution of the professional socialization of nursing through. Methods: Electronic databases of PubMed, Science Direct, Iranmedex, SID, Ovid, and Google Scholar were searched completely using appropriate keywords from 2000 to 2016, to identify the articles pertaining to the topic of interest. Twenty articles were found to be eligible and reviewed in this study. Results: The professional socialization is a complex process characterized at least by 4 determinants: learning, interaction, evolution and adaptation. Several factors could affect the professional socialization of nursing including comprehensive training programs, the opportunity to gain experience and constructive feedbacks during training and at work environments. A wide range of consequences have been related to socialization of nursing which can be influenced by personal, organizational, and situational factors and may result in both good and bad adaptation of the individuals. Conclusion: Professional socialization is a complex process needs special attentions and can have both positive and negative outcomes. The effective socialization of nursing is depended on conditions provided in the field of education and services.