Predominant Discourses in Swedish Nursing

Abstract

The aim of this study was to elucidate the predominant discourse in the field of Swedish nursing in 2000, 25 years after nursing was introduced as an academic discipline in Sweden. The method used was content analysis and deconstructive analysis of discourses. Laws, statutes, regulations, and examination requirements, including official reports, recruitment campaigns, and media coverage, were analyzed. The findings uncovered competing discourses striving to gain hegemony. In the public sector, official requirements competed against the media fixation on gender stereotypes and the realities of local recruitment campaigns. Media has a major role in disseminating prevailing conceptions and conventions pertaining to the nursing profession. As a result, decision makers, students, patients, and family members could get lower expectations of the professional competence of nursing practitioners than would otherwise have been the case in the absence of media exposure.

The nursing profession: public image, self‐concept and professional identity. A discussion paper

“…). With respect to male nurses, men were either portrayed as the second sex in nursing care (Dahlborg‐Lyckhage & Pilhammar‐Anderson ), or as nurses with different work patterns who are not influenced by marriage (Liu ). Öhlén and Segesten () demonstrate that male nurses experience uncertainty from other people meeting a male nurse as a result of stereotyped images.…”

“…The public is oblivious to the different levels of education and professionalism involved in nursing (DeMeis et al . , Dahlborg‐Lyckhage & Pilhammar‐Anderson , Liu ). The study of Huffstutler et al .…”

“…Nursing is still seen as a feminine, caring sub‐professional occupation rather than a profession (Liu ). The study of Dahlborg‐Lyckhage and Pilhammar‐Anderson () on predominant discourses in Swedish nursing shows that the image of nurses in gendered discourse has been mainly negative. Nursing was, and sometimes still is, portrayed as a female profession, with nurses playing supporting roles to physicians and occupying a subordinate position with regard to decision‐making and delegating tasks.…”

The character of nursing students’ critical reflection at the end of their education

“…The learning process for the prospective nurse means to be influenced by and relate to the implicit and explicit content offered in different educational contexts. [2][3][4] The teaching practice gives the tools for a scientific approach, [1,11] necessary for nurse competence.…”

“…[2] Additionally, there are major discourses, for example the medical or gender discourse, which dominate the media's view of the nursing profession. [3] Nursing may be considered a preserved occupation because, at its core, older values and stereotypes largely remain in place. [4] Research shows that students tend to have an idealistic view of the profession.…”