Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40990349›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of mental health nursing2025

A Systematic Review of Mental Health Nurses' Perceptions of Their Professional Identity.

Donagh O'Brien, John Richard Kelly, Peter Kelly

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of mental health nursing, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
  4. Factors Influencing Nursing Students' Attitudes and Career Interests in Mental Health Nursing - An Integrative Review.The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Donagh O'BrienTallaght Mental Health Services, HSE Mary Mercer Health Centre, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1766-0261
John Richard KellyTallaght Mental Health Services, HSE Mary Mercer Health Centre, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9545-0615
Peter KellyDepartment of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0505-8266

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Evidence suggests that moving from specialist to generic nurse education, as is proposed in the United Kingdom and as has already happened in countries such as Australia, leads to a reduction in the quality of mental health nurse education and a weakening of mental health nurse professional identity. Meanwhile, research has found that mental health nurse professional identity is already complex because of the discipline's multifaceted but objectively ambiguous role. The present qualitative systematic review aimed to explore mental health nurses' perceptions of their professional identity. It was conducted in the form of a thematic analysis of qualitative data and was compliant with PRISMA reporting guidelines. Six databases (CINAHL Ultimate, EBSCO Medline, APA PsycInfo, APA PsycArticles, PubMed and SCOPUS) were searched in April and May 2024. The literature search yielded a total of n = 3710 studies. Following a process of screening using Covidence and quality appraisal using the CASP tool, a total of n = 23 peer-reviewed qualitative studies were selected for inclusion. Five themes emerged: (1) Professional identity formation, (2) The attributes of mental health nurses, (3) The mental health nurse role, (4) The unique skills and knowledge of mental health nurses and (5) Professional identity and the future of mental health nursing. This systematic review concluded that mental health nurses recognise their profession as being complex and difficult to describe; however, they remain positive and committed to their roles, recognising that the uniqueness of mental health nursing may become its defining strength.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelNurse's RolePsychiatric NursingSocial IdentificationHumansQualitative Researchnurse's roleperceptionpsychiatric nursingqualitative researchsocial identification

Identifiers

PMID40990349
PMCPMC12459084

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.