title: What predicts the selection of nursing as a career choice in 5th and 6th year school students?
abstract: Demand for nursing care, and nurses, is growing in the United Kingdom given an increasingly ageing patient population with long-term co-morbidities. An ageing nursing workforce and fewer school leavers entering nursing are key barriers to student nurse recruitment. This paper aims to identify the socio-demographic and correlates nursing as a career choice in 5th and 6th year school students. This cross-sectional descriptive study gathered self-administered questionnaires from a total cohort of 5th and 6th year school students (n=1059) in one educational authority in Scotland. A response rate of 100% was achieved, with 702 students expressing a career choice. Some 71.7% (n=503) of students providing a full data set would never consider nursing, even if they obtained poor grades. Only 28.3% (n=199) would ever consider nursing. Students cited nursing as a career choice if they were female, of average to below average academic ability/achievement, expressed a positive attitude to nursing as a degree subject which was shared by their career guidance teacher. Each additional higher reduced the likelihood of nursing as a career choice by 22%. Nursing is an unpopular career choice amongst school students. Strategies are required to improve the occupational image of nursing in secondary education.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, United Kingdom. G.R.NEILSON@DUNDEE.AC.UK
authors.forename: Gavin R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Neilson
authors.forename: Martyn C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002321:Career Choice; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009729:Nursing; D012606:Scotland; D012737:Sex Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires