Student nurse recruitment: determinants for choosing a nursing program

Competitive recruitment of nursing school applicants requires a thorough understanding of why they pick a particular school. By applying marketing techniques, nursing schools can identify their institutions' perceived strengths and tailor their recruitment efforts to applicants' needs. Students and alumni (n = 228) responding to a mail survey indicated that their awareness of the nursing program was primarily through personal contacts and direct mail. Other marketing media were perceived as ineffective. Several market segments were identified through canonical correlation analysis: traditional and nontraditional students. Traditional students (under age 25, unmarried, local, in the baccalaureate program) chose the program due to quality of clinical instruction and financial aid. Nontraditional students (age 25 or older, married, returning LPN or RN, transfer, in generic BSN or associate programs) decided to attend based on convenience. The research resulted in the development of recruiting materials emphasizing the unique strengths of the nursing program.