Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, cilt.55, sa.6, ss.1215-1226, 2023 (ESCI)
Introduction: Metaphors are one of the most effective linguistic tools that are used to reveal
how society describes nursing and what their vision of nursing is and to understand how
effective the roles and responsibilities assumed by nurses in a multidisciplinary healthcare
team are in protecting and maintaining the health of individuals, families, and society.
Aim: The aim of this study was to reveal the perceptions of society about “nurses”
through metaphors.
Methods: The study was planned with a mixed design involving qualitative and quantitative
research methods. It was carried out with 810 people living in Turkey who were
between the ages of 15 and 65 and voluntarily participated in the study. Each participant
was asked to fill in the blanks in the sentence, “A nurse is like a/an………………
because…………” The data were analyzed by using qualitative (content analysis) and
quantitative (chi-squared)
data analysis methods.
Results: It was determined that the participants produced 194 metaphors related to the
concept of a “nurse.” It was observed that they frequently used metaphors of “angel,”
“parent,” “doctor's assistant/right hand,” “lifesaver,” and “confidant” regarding the concept
of nurse and conceptualized a nurse as “Beneficial/Helpful/Healer/Facilitator.”
Conclusions and Clinical relevance: The results showed that the awareness and perception
of society toward nurses should be improved on the basis of the opportunity
created by the COVID-19
pandemic period, and the concepts should be introduced to
younger generations in a wider framework under the leadership of nursing faculties.