Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences
Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences

High School Students’ Perceptions of Nursing as a Future Career Choice: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Tahereh Najafi Ghezeljeh 1
Marjan Mardani-Hamooleh 1
Naima Seyedfatemi 1
Sahar Keyvanloo 2
Marjan Fooladi 3

1 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Department of Community Health and Geriatric Nursing, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Fulbright Scholar and Professor at Florida State University, College of Nursing, United States

10.34172/jqr.2024.21
Abstract
Background: Understanding the perceptions of high school students, before entering the field of nursing, can be a basis for future planning in this regard. Accordingly, this study aimed to explain the perceptions of these students about nursing as a future career choice in Iran.
Methods: This qualitative content analysis study was conducted in four public high schools in Tehran, Iran. Participants included 28 students recruited using purposive sampling who were administered semi-structured, face-to-face interviews in 2019. The duration of the interviews ranged from 30 to 45 minutes and the interviews were transcribed verbatim. The method proposed by Elo and Kyngäs was used to analyze the data. Initially, semantic similarities and differences were reviewed and the subcategories were identified. After repeated reviews, the related subcategories were placed in one category.
Results: Data analysis showed students’ perceptions of nursing as a future career could be classified into three categories and seven subcategories. The main categories included a positive view of the nursing profession (with two subcategories: interest in the profession and being a supporter), barriers to choosing nursing as a future career (with three subcategories: the lack of professional independence, poor financial support, and negative evaluation of nursing), and cultural issues (with two subcategories: stigmatized public image and nursing as a gender-dominated profession).
Conclusion: The results of this study showed high school students have positive and negative views towards nursing and the influence of cultural issues on the nursing profession. If those interested in nursing can enter this field, they will act as professionals who provide optimal patient care.

Keywords

Nursing
High school students
Perceptions
Profession
Qualitative research
  1. Tawash E, Cowman S. The NURSING-Positive Recruitment Arabic Model (NURS-P.R.A.M.): a mixed methods study. J Adv Nurs. 2018;74(11):2630-9. doi: 10.1111/jan.13740.
  2. Glerean N, Hupli M, Talman K, Haavisto E. Perception of nursing profession - focus group interview among applicants to nursing education. Scand J Caring Sci. 2019;33(2):390-9. doi: 10.1111/scs.12635.
  3. Mert S, Altuntaş Yildiz T, Gönen Şentürk S, Durualp E. Senior high school students’ opinions on the nursing profession: A ten-year comparative study. J Adv Nurs. 2020;76(8):2082-93. doi: 10.1111/jan.14403.
  4. Darvishpour A, Javadi-Pashaki N. Good clinical instructor from the perspective of nursing students: a qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2020;7(4):372-82.
  5. Hosenirobat SM, Rahemneya F, Kazemi M, Mortezavi S. Analyzing contents of emotional labor dimensions among exemplar Iranian nurses. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2020;6(3):325- 42.
  6. Pierrotti VW, de Brito Guirardello E, Toledo VP. Nursing knowledge patterns: nurses’ image and role in society perceived by students. Rev Bras Enferm. 2020;73(4):e20180959. doi: 10.1590/0034-7167-2018-0959.
  7. Williams C, Dickstein-Fischer L. A national study of school counselors’ perceptions of the nursing profession. Nurse Educ. 2018;43(4):191-5. doi: 10.1097/nne.0000000000000476.
  8. Williams C. Recruiting middle school students into nursing: an integrative review. Nurs Forum. 2018;53(2):142-7. doi: 10.1111/nuf.12235.
  9. Williams C, Dickstein-Fischer L, Emery H. A call for future nurses: school counselors’ perceptions of the nursing role: a preliminary study. J Prof Nurs. 2018;34(1):54-9. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.07.004.
  10. Yekefallah L, Dehghankar L, Shafaee M, Mohamadi S, Moradi M. ICU students’ experiences of an effective clinical instructor: a phenomenological study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2021;10(2):124-33. doi: 10.22062/jqr.2021.193588.0.
  11. Imanzadeh A. Nurses’ lived experiences of forgiveness to others. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2017;6(4):337-48.
  12. Girvin J, Jackson D, Hutchinson M. Contemporary public perceptions of nursing: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the international research evidence. J Nurs Manag. 2016;24(8):994-1006. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12413.
  13. Rubbi I, Pasquinelli G, Cremonini V, Fortunato F, Gatti L, Lepanto F, et al. Does student orientation improve nursing image and positively influence the enrolment of nursing students in the university? An observational study. Acta Biomed. 2019;90(6-s):68-77. doi: 10.23750/abm. v90i6-S.8568.
  14. Leńczuk-Gruba A, Idzik A, Dziedzic B. Why not nursing? Perceptions of the nursing job by young people of high schools–preliminary study. Pielegniarstwo XXI wieku/Nursing in the 21st Century. 2019;18(2):115-22. doi: 10.2478/ pielxxiw-2019-0015.
  15. Liaw SY, Wu LT, Chow YL, Lim S, Tan KK. Career choice and perceptions of nursing among healthcare students in higher educational institutions. Nurse Educ Today. 2017;52:66-72. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.02.008.
  16. Elo S, Kyngäs H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs. 2008;62(1):107-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1365- 2648.2007.04569.x.
  17. Rezapour Nasrabad R. Criteria of validity and reliability in qualitative research. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2018;7(4):493-9.
  18. Tuckett A, Kim H, Huh J. Image and message: recruiting the right nurses for the profession. A qualitative study. Nurse Educ Today. 2017;55:77-81. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.05.007.
  19. Che Hasan MK, Jusoh NS, Hamid SH, Nurumal MS. Perceptions toward considering nursing as a career choice among secondary school students. J Keperawatan Indones. 2020;23(3):194-201. doi: 10.7454/jki.v23i3.1090.
  20. Gómez E, Brostoff M. Helping high school students explore nursing careers in a summer internship program. J Nurses Prof Dev. 2018;34(3):133-41. doi: 10.1097/ nnd.0000000000000446.
  21. McGee J, Stephenson E, Teel C, Moore WT, Peltzer J. African American and Latinx adolescents’ perspectives of nursing as a career choice. J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(9):519-24. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20190819-04.
  22. Elmorshedy H, AlAmrani A, Hassan MH, Fayed A, Albrecht SA. Contemporary public image of the nursing profession in Saudi Arabia. BMC Nurs. 2020;19:47. doi: 10.1186/s12912- 020-00442-w.
  23. Price S, MacMillan K, Awad C, Paynter M. Promoting recruitment by rebranding the image of nursing. Nurs Stand. 2019;34(11):24-8. doi: 10.7748/ns.2019.e10937.
  24. Mirzaee MS, Salamat A, Mardani-Hamooleh M, Abbasi Z, Salehi T. Nurses’ challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2022;11(3):189-95. doi: 10.34172/jqr.2022.06.
  25. Williams C, Dickstein-Fischer L. School counselors’ perceptions of necessary attributes of middle and high school students interested in a career in nursing. Nurs Educ Perspect. 2019;40(1):30-4. doi: 10.1097/01.nep.0000000000000348.
Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences
Volume 13, Issue 3
Summer 2024
Pages 145-150

  • Receive Date 09 April 2022
  • Revise Date 15 June 2024
  • Accept Date 27 June 2024

Home page

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us