From Ward Nurse to Home-Based Practitioner: A Protocol for a Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry into Evolving Professional Identity

Nurses transitioning from hospital ward settings to home-based care face unique challenges that can impact their professional identity. This paper outlines a protocol for a hermeneutic phenomenological study exploring how nurses experience this transition and negotiate their evolving professional identities. The conceptual framework draws upon positioning theory augmented with a willingness, capability, and power lens to examine nurses deliberated self-positioning and forced self-positioning across the stages of pre-positioning, negotiated positioning, and performed positioning. Data will be collected through two rounds of in-depth interviews and participant observation with 15–20 nurses who have transitioned from ward to home-based practice within the past 5 years. Thematic analysis following hermeneutic phenomenological principles will be conducted to identify themes reflecting the essence of the transition experience and identity transformation process. Rigor will be enhanced through strategies including triangulation, member checking, thick description, and reflexive journaling. Findings may inform educational and organizational strategies to better support nurses through this career transition. Understanding the dynamics of nursing identity transformation in this context addresses a key gap in the literature and may offer insights transferable to other nursing transitions and health professions.