RATIONALE:The professional identity and experiences of nurses have been focused upon in different studies
AIM:This is a longitudinal study whose aim was to understand how nurses experience the meaning of their identity as nurses, when they are students and nurses 2 years after graduation.
DESIGN:Data were collected through interviews once a year during education and two years after graduation, and were analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method, inspired by the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur.
FINDINGS:The analyses of the narratives resulted in four perspectives: 'Having the patient in focus', 'Being a team leader', 'Preceptorship' and 'Task orientation'. The nurses did not change perspectives but the perspective showed a transition over time.
CONCLUSION:The nurses' not changing perspective over time is understood as being a life paradigm, remaining throughout the years.