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Background Emergency and intensive care unit nurses are the main workforce fighting against COVID-19. Their professional identity may affect whether they can actively participate and be competent in care tasks during the pandemic. Objective To examine the level of and changes in professional identity of Chinese emergency and intensive care unit nurses as the COVID-19 pandemic builds. Methods A cross-sectional survey composed of the Professional Identity Scale for Nurses plus 2 open-ended questions was administered to Chinese emergency and intensive care unit nurses through an online questionnaire. Results Emergency and intensive care unit nurses had a medium level of professional identity. Participants’ total and item mean scores in 5 professional identity dimensions were higher than the professional identity norm established by Liu (P < .001). The greatest mean item score difference was in the dimension of professional identity evaluation (3.57 vs 2.88, P < .001). When asked about their feelings witnessing the COVID-19 situation and their feelings about participating in frontline work, 68.9% and 83.9%, respectively, reported positive changes in their professional identity. Conclusions The professional identity of emergency and intensive care unit nurses greatly improved during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding may be attributed to more public attention and recognition of nurses’ value, nurses’ professional fulfillment, and nurses’ feelings of being supported, motivated, respected, and valued.

Background Under the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are the mainstay in the fight against the pandemic. Purpose To evaluate potential impact of the pandemic on nurses’ professional identity. Method Self-report questionnaires were distributed online. Data collected were compared with available norms. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to calculate the OR of frontline vs. nonfrontline nurses. Findings The mean of the total score of the scale was 121.12 out of 150. Both the total score and scores on the five dimensions were significantly higher than norms. Frontline nurses had a significantly higher professional identity than non-frontline nurses (total score: odds ratio [OR], 1.19; professional identity evaluation: OR, 1.27; professional social support: OR, 1.18; professional social proficiency: OR, 1.33; and dealing with professional frustration: OR, 1.19). The most frequently mentioned tags were Hope, Frontline, Protection, Outbreak, Work, Situation. Discussion COVID-19 outbreak was associated with an enhancement in the professional identity of nurses., Highlights • This study established that nurses experienced a high level of professional identity during the outbreak of COVID-19. • This study found that working on the frontline could be an important factor related to a high level of professional identity. • This study found that in facing the COVID-19 outbreak, nurses experienced an ever-increased professional and social responsibility, and recognized the value of nursing. • The main findings indicate the potential for enhancement of professional identity during times of extreme stress in the health care system, which provides opportunities for future research and practice.