{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T06:17:46Z","timestamp":1787811466200,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":11,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Nursing Open"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n Aim<\/jats:title>\n Clinical internships represent a critical phase for shaping professional identity in undergraduate nursing students, which significantly influences their career intentions, workforce retention, and the stability of the nursing profession. However, limited research has examined the dynamic, heterogeneous developmental patterns of professional identity throughout the internship period. This study aimed to identify distinct trajectory classes of professional identity and their predictors, with the goal of informing targeted interventions to strengthen professional identity and reduce workforce attrition.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Design<\/jats:title>\n Prospective cohort study.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This prospective cohort study enrolled undergraduate nursing interns from two tertiary hospitals in Anhui Province, China, from January to December 2024. Professional identity was measured using the Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nurse Students (PIQNS) at three time points: the end of the 3rd (early), 6th (middle), and 9th (late) months of internship. We used Latent Class Growth Modelling (LCGM) to identify distinct developmental trajectories. Univariate analyses and binary logistic regression were performed to examine factors associated with trajectory membership.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Of the 251 interns who completed all assessments, LCGM identified two distinct trajectory classes: a low\u2010level group (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u2009128, 51%), characterized by low initial scores, a mild mid\u2010internship rise, and a subsequent moderate decline; and a high\u2010level group (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u2009123, 49%), characterized by consistently high scores, a slight mid\u2010internship increase, and only minor late\u2010stage fluctuation. The logistic regression results revealed that voluntarily choosing nursing as a university major (reference\u2009=\u2009no, OR\u2009=\u20090.195,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.002), liking nursing (reference\u2009=\u2009dislike, OR\u2009=\u20090.260,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009<\u20090.001), and having leadership experience (reference\u2009=\u2009no, OR\u2009=\u20090.446,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.007) were all associated with lower odds of being classified into the low\u2010level group (all OR <\u20091).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n The development of professional identity among nursing interns exhibits significant inter\u2010individual heterogeneity. Clinical educators and academic instructors should consider these distinct trajectory classes when designing personalized, stage\u2010specific interventions to enhance professional identity and mitigate workforce attrition in nursing.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Implications for the Profession<\/jats:title>\n These findings provide actionable guidance for clinical preceptors and academic instructors to identify interns at risk of professional identity decline, especially those with non\u2010voluntary major choice, low professional interest, or no leadership experience. Educators should implement stage\u2010specific support: pre\u2010internship orientation to manage expectations, mid\u2010internship competency feedback and peer mentoring, and late\u2010internship career counselling and resilience training to reduce burnout and employment pressure. Such targeted interventions may enhance professional identity stability and improve nursing workforce retention.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Patient or Public Contribution<\/jats:title>\n No patient or public contribution.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/nop2.70738","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T12:24:21Z","timestamp":1786537461000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Identifying Distinct Trajectories and Predictors of Professional Identity in Nursing Interns: A Prospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-8373-3722","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhengju","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University Hefei Anhui China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2256-7566","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peng","family":"Shao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University Hefei Anhui China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0383-8493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hongrang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Transplant Surgery II The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University Hefei Anhui China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Biaoxin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nursing Department The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University Hefei Anhui China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_13_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912\u2010026\u201004822\u20106"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909\u2010026\u201009163\u20101"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/tct.13467"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888\u2010023\u201004887\u20106"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gerinurse.2025.05.011"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3928\/01484834\u201020210120\u201004"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_8_1","unstructured":"Hao Y.2011.\u2018Study of the model of self\u2010education in enhancing the level of professional identity and professional self\u2010efficacy in nurse students [Dissertation].\u2019. Shanghai: The Second Military Medical University."},{"key":"e_1_2_13_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912\u2010023\u201001524\u20101"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_10_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/jpbs.jpbs_1929_24"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.profnurs.2020.04.018"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_12_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.67508"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen\u20102018\u2010028052"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_14_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/23779608261457209"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_15_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/jocn.15716"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909\u2010026\u201009584\u2010y"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nedt.2021.104906"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/NND.0000000000000784"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nedt.2021.104781"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.nedt.2019.104227"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-025-08022-9"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909\u2010024\u201006505\u20109"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_23_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912\u2010022\u201000983\u20102"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_24_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/nop2.2006"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_25_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/nu16101445"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_26_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12912\u2010024\u201001722\u20105"},{"key":"e_1_2_13_27_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s40620\u2010024\u201001437\u20107"}],"container-title":["Nursing Open"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/nop2.70738","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/nop2.70738","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/nop2.70738","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T05:30:15Z","timestamp":1787808615000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/nop2.70738"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"references-count":26,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/nop2.70738"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/nop2.70738","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2054-1058","2054-1058"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2054-1058","type":"print"},{"value":"2054-1058","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-04-08","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-29","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-12","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70738"}}