The fate of idealism in nursing school.

Responses to a Role Projective Test by freshman and senior student nurses writing descriptions of typical hospital scenes are interpreted as showing that expressions of idealism or realism reflect the extent of socialization into the role. The learnings that occur represent a cognitive orientation to the world of nursing which involves treating that world as it is and developing perspectives which are congruent with the perspectives of other relevant actors in the situation. Idealism is interpreted as meaning that the emerging self is seen as competent, that the individual believes events can be normalized and that a routine way of behaving in that scene can be developed.