Socialization of Japanese nursing students.

An important focus of nursing education research is the acquisition of values, behaviors, and attitudes that will influence a nurse's professional role. In this qualitative study, the process of professional socialization among Japanese nursing students was investigated. Interviews with nursing students and faculty members in Tokyo revealed that socialization of nursing students is a multidimensional process, with classroom experiences, clinical practice, and extracurricular elements all having an influence. Six themes emerged from the data: openness to others, communication, team building, reflection, extracurricular networking, and focused education. Although communication and clinical experiences are limited by cultural norms, students become socialized to the nursing profession through various other means.