Professionalism of Healthcare Jobs in the War

Background Professionalism is an important characteristic of professional jobs including nursing and medicine. Many professional values during the crisis are glaring. Objectives This study was conducted to explain the role of the Iran-Iraq war in the professionalism of healthcare disciplines based on the documented experiences of medical staff. Methods This is part of a qualitative study which used the conventional content analysis in 2014 - 2016. The researcher collected and analyzed 119 memories of the healthcare providers about the Iran-Iraq war, simultaneously. Results Professionalism was one of the main categories emerged from the analysis of data. This theme included six sub-themes, “promotion of personal and professional empowerment”, “compliance with laws and regulations”, “holistic care”, “expression of good traits”, “interpersonal relationships”, and “sublimation of spirit”. Conclusions Experiences of healthcare providers in the war can be applied in peacetime and future crisis through broadening their perception of nursing and medicine professions and improving their sense of professionalism.