Background: The concept of professional commitment is being widely studied at present. However, although it is considered an indicator for the most human part of nursing care, there is no clear definition for it, and different descriptors are being used indiscriminately to reference it.
Objective: The aim of this study is to clarify the concept of professional commitment in nursing through the Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis process.
Design: Systematic search using English and Spanish descriptors and concept analysis. Studies published between 2009 and June 2015, front-to-back analysis of the Nursing Ethics journal and manual check of articles cited in studies related to the Nijmegen Professionalism Scale.
Research design: The procedure of concept analysis developed by Rodgers was used.
Ethical considerations: Although the topic was not labeled as sensitive and subject to ethical approval, its realization was approved by the Ethical Committee of Clinical Research of Aragon (CEICA) approved the study on 18 March 2015 and also careful procedures have been followed according to ethics expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki.
Findings and discussion: A total of 17 published studies. A clear definition of the concept was made, and surrogate terms, concept dimension, differential factors related to the concept, sociocultural variations and consequences for nursing practice were identified.
Conclusion: There is a need for continuous advancement in the development of the concept, specific actions to encourage this and the improvement of evaluation methods for its study.
Keywords: Commitment; compromise; concept analysis; engagement; nurse; nursing; professional practice; professionalism; professionalization; responsibility; systematic review.