Conceptual Analysis of Professional Conscience Among Healthcare Workers in Iran: A Hybrid Analysis.

Background: Professional conscience among healthcare workers is a contextual concept, which depends on various factors. Studies have revealed different meanings, definitions and characteristics for professional conscience. This study was conducted to clarify the concept of professional conscience an...

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Published in:Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 1 - 13
Main Authors: Dehghani, Ali, Keshavarzi, Abdolkhalegh
Format: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Jun2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2025
      vid: 39
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        atl: Conceptual Analysis of Professional Conscience Among Healthcare Workers in Iran: A Hybrid Analysis.
      aug:
        au:
          Dehghani, Ali
          Keshavarzi, Abdolkhalegh
        affil: Department of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran
      sug:
        subj:
          Conscience
          Health Personnel Psychosocial Factors
          Concept Analysis
          Professional Role
          Professional Identity
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Middle Age
          Iran
          Systematic Review
          PubMed
          World Wide Web
          Descriptive Statistics
          Fieldwork
          Commitment
          Funding Source
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Middle Aged: 45-64 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: Professional conscience among healthcare workers is a contextual concept, which depends on various factors. Studies have revealed different meanings, definitions and characteristics for professional conscience. This study was conducted to clarify the concept of professional conscience and identify its characteristics among healthcare workers. Methods: This is a hybrid conceptual analysis, which was conducted in three phases of theoretical, fieldwork and final analysis. In theoretical phase, 22 articles were analysed using a combination of key words 'professional conscience', 'professional conscience in health', 'professional conscience in health workers' and 'health workers' from valid databases. In fieldwork phase, semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 healthcare workers. In final analysis phase, results of two previous phases were integrated, and a comprehensive definition was presented for the concept of professional conscience. Findings: The six main themes extracted in the theoretical phase included: 'Evidence‐based care', 'ethics reflection in care', 'correct and timely performance', 'professional commitment', 'response to the inner voice' and 'internal personal evaluation'. In fieldwork phase, the seven main themes extracted included: 'nursing as an inner and sacred value', 'human care', 'self‐sacrifice', 'timely response', 'god's supervision in care', 'covenant between oneself and god' and 'being one's own judge'. In final phase, final definition of the concept was presented with combination of results of two previous phases. Conclusions: The findings showed that professional conscience among healthcare workers is a dynamic and multidimensional concept, which consists of dimensions of comprehensive care, sense of commitment and responsibility, divine supervision on performance and self‐evaluation.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        systematic review
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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