The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers
The professional identity of health care workers is in constant reconstruction. Since identity is fluid, it is easily influenced and the Covid-19 pandemic created change which affected the professional identity of health care workers. Based on structuration and positioning theories, the purpose of t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | SAGE Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241311696 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832595632027598848 |
|---|---|
| author | Shushentha Naidoo Shaun Denvor Ruggunan |
| author_facet | Shushentha Naidoo Shaun Denvor Ruggunan |
| author_sort | Shushentha Naidoo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The professional identity of health care workers is in constant reconstruction. Since identity is fluid, it is easily influenced and the Covid-19 pandemic created change which affected the professional identity of health care workers. Based on structuration and positioning theories, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question: how has the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the professional identity of health care workers? The methodology applied was qualitative. Six individuals participated in 60-min semi-structured interviews. Three themes emerged from this study. These themes are; professional strain and identity management, crisis and reconstruction and experiences of Covid-19. The study found that through the challenges of Covid-19, the professional identity of health care workers was strained. To support the professional identities of health care workers, it is recommended that policies on creating and promoting identities need to be guided. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9c71327aed264cb583b0d138dbd1d844 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2158-2440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-9c71327aed264cb583b0d138dbd1d8442025-01-18T10:03:41ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402025-01-011510.1177/21582440241311696The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care WorkersShushentha Naidoo0Shaun Denvor Ruggunan1 University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaThe professional identity of health care workers is in constant reconstruction. Since identity is fluid, it is easily influenced and the Covid-19 pandemic created change which affected the professional identity of health care workers. Based on structuration and positioning theories, the purpose of this paper is to answer the question: how has the Covid-19 pandemic influenced the professional identity of health care workers? The methodology applied was qualitative. Six individuals participated in 60-min semi-structured interviews. Three themes emerged from this study. These themes are; professional strain and identity management, crisis and reconstruction and experiences of Covid-19. The study found that through the challenges of Covid-19, the professional identity of health care workers was strained. To support the professional identities of health care workers, it is recommended that policies on creating and promoting identities need to be guided.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241311696 |
| spellingShingle | Shushentha Naidoo Shaun Denvor Ruggunan The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers SAGE Open |
| title | The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers |
| title_full | The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers |
| title_fullStr | The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers |
| title_short | The Influence of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Professional Identities of Health Care Workers |
| title_sort | influence of the covid 19 pandemic on the professional identities of health care workers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241311696 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shushenthanaidoo theinfluenceofthecovid19pandemicontheprofessionalidentitiesofhealthcareworkers AT shaundenvorruggunan theinfluenceofthecovid19pandemicontheprofessionalidentitiesofhealthcareworkers AT shushenthanaidoo influenceofthecovid19pandemicontheprofessionalidentitiesofhealthcareworkers AT shaundenvorruggunan influenceofthecovid19pandemicontheprofessionalidentitiesofhealthcareworkers |