Factors associated with students' orientations to nursing.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Professional Orientation
• Student Motivation

Background:

• Student orientations to nursing are under-researched compared to other professions.
• Professional orientation impacts learning motivation, study performance, and job satisfaction.
• Understanding nursing student orientation is crucial for addressing educational challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors associated with nursing students' orientations to nursing.
• To examine the relationship between pre-educational experiences, gender, specialty, study problems, and intention to stay, and nursing orientation.
• To assess student orientation towards caring, nursing expertise, and life.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an orientation to nursing measurement tool developed from qualitative research.
• Collected data from 184 nursing students across three Finnish nursing programs.
• Employed non-parametric statistical tests (Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis) for data analysis.

Main Results:

• A majority of students were highly life-orientated; two-thirds had average scores for nursing expertise and caring orientation.
• Student orientation was significantly associated with gender, nursing specialty choice, encountered study problems, and intention to remain in nursing.
• No significant association was found between pre-educational nursing experiences and student orientation to nursing.

Conclusions:

• Contradictions between student nursing orientation and program philosophy may cause motivation and satisfaction issues.
• Nurse educators should review curricula and supervision to enhance flexibility in personal study planning.
• Addressing student orientation is vital for improving nursing education outcomes and student retention.