We made it , NSNA Members !
Editorial
Time has really flown these last few months ! It felt like yesterday that I was elected as your new Imprint Editor and I was just a senior nursing student . I am now a registered nurse and working in a medical intensive care unit . I am so excited to write this last editorial of Imprint before I pass on the torch to Azariah Torain , the 2022-2023 Imprint Editor . Congratulations to all the 2022 graduating seniors . I cannot wait to see what the future holds for you all .
Professional identity is something that I do not take lightly as a new graduate nurse , and it is something I try to improve and grow in daily . It is important when going through nursing school to develop one ’ s professional identity , so that once you find yourself as the nurse in charge of a patient ’ s plan of care , you not only know how to act , but also feel like a nurse . Imposter syndrome is huge in new graduate nurses , so developing your professional identity early can help you tremendously in your future . There are many things that you can do to improve your professional identity , especially during important times like this where many of us are compiling our job applications to hit the ground running in our nursing careers .
This issue of Imprint is all about professional identity — what professional identity in nursing is and how you begin to can form it as a nursing student . Debra Liebig and Nelda Godfrey break it down for us on page 26 . On page 30 , Shelby Foster defines professional identity and explains how this is something that dates back to Florence Nightingale and is still widely practiced today . Getting involved in projects is an incredible way to develop your professional identity while in nursing school . Some members of the 2021 Student Nurse Committee of the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment ( ANHE ) took their passion for environmental health and started a Call-to-Action project to request environmental health to be added to the nursing curriculum . Read more about this project on page 17 . Also , read the Happenings Column on page 21 to see how nursing students are getting involved in their school chapters and state associations . During the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic , many people lost sight of their own professional identity . Zashary Ramos-Sandoval ’ s “ Professional Identity During a Time of Crisis is the Light for Nurses and Patients ” discuss this on page 32 . Now that you ’ re an expert on professional identity , Karla Rodriguez explains how you can apply the pillars of professional identity to your nursing career on page 34 .
Thank you for reading Imprint magazine and your article submissions — the readership and submissions are what makes Imprint possible . Don ’ t forget to take the Imprint Readership quiz on page 43 to enter a drawing for a $ 500 scholarship . Seniors — you can apply too !
Thank you for an incredible year and I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors .
Megan Johnston Imprint Editor
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