The popular identity of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: An integrative review

Context: The current COVID-19 context has placed nurses at the heart of the pandemic, due to the critical role they play within the population. However, media and professional discourses are influencing the identity and clinical practice of nurses.
Objective: Review the literature on the construction of the popular identity of nurses and their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: Several data sources were consulted: Eureka, Google News, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Sociological Abstracts, Cumulative Index to Nursing Information and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), MEDLINE, and Social Sciences Abstracts. Manual searches of government and professional sites were also conducted.
Results: Of a total of 281 papers indexed, 73 were retained. The literature analysis identified the following themes: 1) identity images of nurses during this pandemic and their professional roles; 2) the sometimes paradoxical nature of media and political discourse; and 3) the fact that this discourse seems to influence clinical nursing practice, which is being assigned new roles.
Conclusion: This article raises awareness among decision-makers about the multiple roles of nurses and the public image of nurses during a pandemic, and takes a critical look at popular discourses related to nurses’ identity and how this identity changes during a pandemic.