Role conflict in student nurses: towards a positive approach for the 1990s

Abstract

This review paper seeks to adopt a constructive approach towards the subject of the role conflict experienced by student nurses. The significance of role conflict is explored, as are its causes and its effects on the student. Role conflict is then discussed from the perspectives of social psychology in general and nursing in particular, and the paper concludes with an emphasis on the role of the nurse educator in helping the students deal actively and constructively with the role conflict that they will inevitably experience during their careers in nursing.