Health promotion and tobacco control: student nurses' perspectives

This article reports findings about student nurses' understanding of the nursing role in health promotion related to tobacco issues. These findings were derived from the data of a larger project, examining smoking practices of baccalaureate nursing students in Manitoba, Canada. The study was conducted with second-year, third-year, and fourth-year university nursing students studying at several sites throughout the province (N = 272). From the data analysis of the interviews, class forums, and open-ended survey questions, five themes emerged (i.e., who they are-who they are becoming, central beliefs and attitudes, learning the facts, practice world-limited options, role conflict). Students expressed considerable uncertainty and conflict concerning individual autonomy around decisions about tobacco use. This resulted in confusion about themselves as role models and their use of health promotion interventions.