Nursing through a child's eyes - A qualitative image analysis of children's drawings

Introduction: Traditional role models or scandalous reports revealing poor working conditions have left their mark on the nursing profession in Germany. In order to make nursing a more attractive profession to young people and to create a sense of professional pride for members of the nursing profession, we need to focus more on its positive aspects. Children with hospital experience were invited to participate in a painting competition to counter visual stereotypes. "Nursing through a child's eyes" can provide a subjective view of the nursing profession based on individual experiences. Methods: The pictures that children created during the painting competition were analysed qualitative ly. The paintings were described and interpreted by independent peer groups in a four-step procedure. Results: A total of 42 paintings from five university hospitals were included in the analysis. Paediatric specialties with a focus on surgery, oncology and internal medicine participated. The pictures showed typical nursing activities in the areas of communication, support, organisation, technology and basic needs. Nurses were portrayed as technically experienced and pleasantly reserved. In addition, symbols such as hearts, smileys or rainbows suggest associations with attention, emotional support or hope. Discussion: Children with hospital experience painted a positive and modern professional image of the nursing role. In some pictures, the typical visual features allowing a clear assignment to the nursing pro fession are missing. Conclusion: The stereotypes of the nursing profession should be replaced with a modern and realistic, counter-stereotypical narrative in the visual presentation. The perspective of children with hospital expe rience demonstrates that there are numerous, often invisible aspects that give reason to be proud of being a nurse.