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Background/aim The successful development and maintenance of professional identity is associated with professional development and retention in the health workforce. This paper explores students' perspectives on the ways pre-entry experiences and curricula content shape professional identity. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was sent to students enrolled in the final year of entry-level programmes in five countries. Descriptive statistical analyses of data were completed. Results The results reflect the perceptions of 319 respondents from five countries. Respondents identified professional education (98%) and professional socialisation during placement (92%) as curricula components with the greatest influence on professional identity formation. Discipline-specific knowledge such as, occupation-focussed models and occupational science were ranked lower than these aspects of practice. The students' length of programme and level of entry-level programme did not impact on these results. Conclusion When designing curricula educators need to be mindful that students perceive practice education and professional socialisation have the greatest affect on professional identity formation. The findings reinforce the need for curricula to provide students with a range of practice experiences, which allow the observation and application of occupation-based practices. It highlights a need for educators to provide university-based curricula activities, which better prepare students for a potential dissonance between explicit occupation-based curricula and observed practice education experiences. The study indicates the need for further research into the role curricula content, and in particular practice education, plays in the multidimensional formation of professional development within entry-level programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: To identify whether a Compassionate Mind Model‐based curriculum reduces students' perceived fears of compassion and improves their professional well‐being. Background: Enabling compassion is mandatory within nurse education but evidencing it is challenging. Research suggests that application of the Compassionate Mind Model might reduce students' fears of compassion and also decrease compassion fatigue. This study reports outcomes of a post‐registration curriculum based on that model for training Specialist Community Public Health Nurses (Health Visiting). Design: A quantitative, prospective evaluation of a 12‐month training course for Health Visiting students. Reporting was guided by the STROBE checklist for observational studies. Methods: Fears of compassion scales were applied at course start (time 1), mid‐point (time 2; +6 months) and end (time 3; +12 months) to evaluate fears of compassion of 26 post‐registration student Health Visitors (81% of course cohort) who provided data at all three points. The Professional Quality of Life tool was administered simultaneously to evaluate compassion satisfaction and burnout/secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue). Results: Between time 1 and time 3, mean fears of compassion scores decreased by 16.6‐48.5% (repeated measures analysis of variance); mid‐point scores were intermediary. At time 3, compassion satisfaction had increased slightly (+4.1%), negatively correlated with fears of compassion for self (r = −0.602; p =.001; n = 26) and fears of receiving compassion from others (r = −0.568; p =.002; n = 26). Burnout score decreased by 18.7%, correlated positively with fear of compassion for self (r = 0.493; p =.011; n = 26) and fear of receiving compassion from others (r = 0.615; p =.001; n = 26). Secondary traumatic stress score decreased by 16.5% but was not correlated with any fear of compassion. Conclusion: Findings suggest that application of the Compassionate Mind Model might reduce practitioners' fears of compassion linked to a decrease in risk of compassion fatigue. Relevance to clinical practice: The Compassionate Mind Model could provide an effective vehicle to promote compassion and nurse well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]