Abstract: Objective To explore the mediating effect of professional identity in the nursing work environment and career success of clinical nurses in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Methods In November 2023,using the convenience sampling method,272 clinical nurses in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals of Yibin City were selected as the research subjects. A status quo survey was conducted using the general information form,the nursing work environment scale,the nurses' occupational identity scale,and the nurses' sense of career success scale,and the data were analyzed. Results The scores of nursing work environment,nurses' occupational identity and career success of 272 clinical nurses in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals were （121.47±23.41）,（121.94±21.43） and （40.01±9.18）points,respectively. In the univariate analysis,the differences in the scores of nursing work environment,nurses' professional identity,and career success were statistically significant among clinical nurses of different academic degrees,marital statuses,job titles,salaries,contract types,and professional titles（all P<0.05）. The nursing work environment and nurses' professional identity were positively correlated with career success（r=0.711,0.589,both P<0.01）. The nursing work environment had a direct positive predictive effect on career success of nurses in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals（β=0.74,P<0.05）,and nurses' professional identity had a partially mediating effect on nurses' career success（β=0.226,P<0.05）,which the mediating effect accounted for 26.81%. Conclusion The nursing managers should actively build a good nursing work environment to enhance nurses' identification with their own professional values,thus stimulating nurses' sense of career success.

Key words: Nursing work environment, Professional identity, Career success, Mediation effect, Status quo survey