‘Becoming a Nurse’: A Lifelong Journey Beyond the Transition to Professional Practice‐An Analytical Discursive Paper

ABSTRACT

Aim

To reconceptualise becoming a nurse as a lifelong developmental journey that extends beyond the traditional focus on new graduate transition, and to inform policies and practices supporting recruitment, retention and career sustainability.

Background

The global nursing shortage persists, exacerbated by high attrition rates among new graduates and an aging workforce. While existing literature predominantly examines the transition from student to professional practice, we propose that ‘becoming a nurse’ begins earlier and extends beyond clinical roles into retirement.

Design

An analytical discursive paper.

Data Sources

Key theoretical frameworks (Schlossberg's Transition Model, Kennedy's Integrated Transition Model, Benner's Novice-to-Expert framework and Duchscher's Stages of Transition Model) were integrated with empirical literature (1974–2025) on nursing career trajectories, clinical expertise development and professional identity across the lifespan, with emphasis on contemporary evidence from 2015 to 2025.

Results

Becoming a nurse is reconceptualised as a continuous, lifelong transition encompassing four interrelated phases: (1) early career interest, where nursing aspirations emerge during childhood and adolescence; (2) non-traditional entry, involving second-career entrants who undergo profound identity reconstruction as novices; (3) middle-career transition, characterised by sustained development from competence through proficiency toward expertise and clinical wisdom; and (4) late-career transition, where professional identity and contribution continue beyond retirement. Each phase presents distinct developmental demands requiring tailored educational, organisational and workforce responses. Together, these phases form a Lifespan Transition Framework that advances the field by proposing transition as a recursive developmental mechanism, where adaptive capacities built at each phase become foundational resources for subsequent phases, rather than separate, time-limited events.

Conclusion

Understanding becoming a nurse as a lifelong transition provides a unifying conceptual foundation for more coherent, stage-sensitive workforce strategies. This perspective shifts policy and practice beyond short-term graduate retention toward lifespan-oriented workforce systems that strengthen recruitment, sustain expertise and preserve professional wisdom across the whole nursing career lifespan.