In addition to providing healthcare for all ages, groups and cultures throughout history, the field of nursing also has a prestigious image as it takes on various roles and care responsibilities. The image of nursing reflects the respect paid to nursing professionals by society or the attitudes towards and opinions of their social status, skills and behaviors (Koçak et al., 2023, Özdelikara et al., 2015, Sevil and Kaptan, 2022). The scope of the roles and responsibilities of nurses are not fully grasped today and there is generally a negative perception of the image of nursing. The reflection of the image of nursing on society influences the status of the occupation and whether or not students continue their nursing education (Glerean et al., 2017, Milisen et al., 2010, Sevil and Kaptan, 2022, Takase et al., 2006, Taşkıran et al., 2020). Research in the literature on nursing students and nurses shows that the image of nursing is perceived as negative. In this regard, besides the scientific quality of the application and education of nursing, awareness of and sensitivity toward the professional image are of great importance (Koçak et al., 2023).

Since the nursing image perceptions of nursing students, who are the future appliers of the profession, affect their understanding of professionalism, professional performance and the quality of nursing care, it is necessary that a positive professional image be established during their education and be maintained after graduation as well. In this context, the need to reinforce positive images of nursing has drawn attention in recent years (Taşkıran et al., 2020, Vaismoradi et al., 2011). Nursing education is responsible for providing positive nursing images. The significance of nursing and its effects must be instilled in nursing students from their first day of school until graduation. It is accordingly recommended that nursing programs aim to improve positive nursing images (Kızılcık Özkan et al., 2017, Milisen et al., 2010, Sevil and Kaptan, 2022).

Today, with changes in traditional lifestyles and advancements in technology, the expectations and demands of students from education systems have also changed. Therefore, efforts are made to equip nursing students with skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and the ability to work with empathy, communication and collaboration by appealing to cognitive, sensory and motor areas throughout their education. A large percentage of today’s nursing students belong to “Generation Z” and prefer active participation and involvement in learning processes. This is why innovative active learning methods are recommended for nursing instructors. In this regard, one such active and innovative learning method is creative drama (Aktaş and Göçmen Baykara, 2023, Culha, 2019, Uzun and Cerit, 2023).

Creative drama is an educational method used in achieving cognitive, sensory and psychomotor goals set for nursing education. Creative drama is an active and innovative learning method not limited to age, place and subject and it uses techniques of pretending to promote teaching by doing or living (Kesgin and Tok, 2023, Uzun and Cerit, 2023, Uzunhasanoğlu and Özkan, 2022). In environments enriched with creative drama, students can experience the processes of learning about themselves while putting themselves in others’ shoes, showing empathy and discovering daily life situations and encounters in creative situations (Adıgüzel, 2006).

Perceptions of the image of nursing among nursing students can be influenced by many processes during their transition to professional life. Therefore, a positive professional image should be established via educational processes and that perception must be maintained following graduation, as well (Koçak et al., 2023). (Koçak et al., 2023). Nursing students' image perceptions evolve in a positive direction throughout their educational life. Studies have shown that there is a significant difference in the image perception of nursing students between academic grade levels and that students at the beginning of their student life have lower image perception. Because they showed that students encountered stereotypes and negative nursing images when starting their nursing education. (Çakıcı, 2021, Emeghebo, 2012). In this context, it is thought that developing positive professional images among first-year nursing students is a significant goal and more effective education processes must be used to prevent confusion regarding negative images. Although nursing image is not addressed as a separate course subject in the nursing curriculum, it is generally briefly mentioned within the scope of professionalization in the first-year nursing deontology course (two lecture hours per week - 100 minutes). The creative drama method can serve as a tool for rehearsing possible negative scenarios and improving the positive perceptions of the nursing image, as students are expected to devise practical solutions in a dramatized environment that mirrors real life. No previous studies on the use of the creative drama method for images of nursing were found in the literature. Therefore, the present study is significant in being the first research to explore the effectiveness of image and nursing image education provided through creative drama in comparison to presentations and case analysis. This study aimed to provide creative drama education that encourages learning by doing and experiencing with the goal of establishing positive nursing images among first-year nursing students, both during their education and in their subsequent professional lives.

To this end, the study was undertaken to investigate the following hypotheses:

H01: The nursing image education given to the experimental group through creative drama does not contribute to the development of a positive nursing image of nursing students.

H02: The nursing image education given to the control group through presentation-case analysis does not contribute to the development of a positive nursing image of nursing students.

H03: There is no difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of positive nursing image perceptions.

H11: Nursing image education given to the experimental group through creative drama contributes to the development of positive nursing images among nursing students.

H12: Nursing image education given to the control group through presentation-case analysis contributes to nursing students' development of a positive nursing image.

H13: There is a difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of positive nursing image perceptions.