"Love is all you need"? Student nurses' interest in working with children

To investigate the impact of comprehensive nursing education on the future career interests of undergraduate nursing students, with particular emphasis on attitudes toward working with children.

Descriptive design with surveys of 793 undergraduates in university schools of nursing throughout Victoria, Australia.

Working with children is the most popular of nine possible career choices. Student explanations reflected a love of, and desire to work with, children, suggesting a relatively naive and uninformed view.

In view of the problems experienced in the recruitment and retention of adequate numbers of pediatric nurses, there is an urgent need to promote a more realistic view of this area of practice.