Experiences in the workplace community and the influence of community experiences on ENP courses for nursing professionals

• Nurses' connection with the nursing community results in them developing certain beliefs.
• These are nurse–patient relationship, patient-centred nursing care, negative caring experiences, and professional identity.
• The beliefs influence nurses' perceptions of ENP courses.

SummaryBackgroundA nursing community can be described as a discourse community or a Community of Practice (CoP). No matter what type, a nursing community exerts influences on its group members' worldviews, perspectives and beliefs.ObjectivesThe purpose of this research is to explore what nurses' experiences of membership within the nursing community are and how such experiences influence nurses' views of English for nursing purposes (ENP) courses.DesignA qualitative case study was conducted in a medical centre in Taiwan in which many foreign patients seek medical treatment and in which English is highly valued.ParticipantsNine nurses who had at least three years working experience in relation to clinical practice participated in the study.MethodsSemi-structured interviews and shadowing observations were the two primary methods of data collection.ResultsFive themes emerged: (1) building of the nurse–patient relationship, (2) provision of patient-centred care, (3) negative caring experiences, (4) professional identity, and (5) perspectives on ENP courses.ConclusionsNurses' connection with the community led for them to a focus in their working lives. This determined their perceptions of ENP courses.