The reasons students choose to undertake a nursing degree

Lesley Wilkes, Leanne Cowin, Maree Johnson

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    58 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: Determining the reasons people choose to study nursing may help educators and managers develop student-focussed and enticing nursing programmes. In Australia, little research has been undertaken with students entering nursing programmes and the reasons for their choice. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine why new students choose to enter nursing at university. Design: A descriptive survey design. Setting: An urban university in Sydney, Australia. Participants: Undergraduate nursing students at the beginning of their first year of study. Method: An open-ended question relating to the reasons for students' choice of a nursing pro-gramme was included in the survey. The transcribed textual data were content analysed forwords related to the students' choice. Results: The students' reasons for entering nursing programmes were both personal and career related, with personal being more dominant. The reasons to start nursing were: being able to help and care for people, job security, the ability to enter tertiary education and the enjoyment or love of nursing.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)259-265
    Number of pages7
    JournalCollegian
    Volume22
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Keywords

    • career

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