Expectations and voluntary attrition in nursing students.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Studies
• Student Attrition Research

Background:

• Significant incongruence exists between nursing student expectations and program realities.
• This dissonance is a key factor in voluntary withdrawal from pre-registration nursing programs.
• Understanding the causes of voluntary attrition is crucial for improving nursing education retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically understand why nursing students voluntarily leave pre-registration nursing programs.
• To explore the causes of voluntary attrition in nursing students.
• To identify how unrealistic and ambiguous expectations contribute to student attrition.

Main Methods:

• A single case study design was employed within a School of Nursing and Midwifery.
• Data were collected from 15 students who had voluntarily withdrawn from pre-registration nursing programs.
• Semi-structured interviews were conducted, guided by Tinto's conceptual model of higher education student attrition, and analyzed using the Cyclical or Interactive Model of Qualitative Research.

Main Results:

• Nursing students hold a wide range of unrealistic expectations about the nursing profession.
• Information sources and prior experiences significantly shape student expectations.
• Ambiguous and unmet expectations were identified as major contributors to voluntary attrition.

Conclusions:

• The gap between student expectations and the reality of nursing programs leads to dissonance and attrition.
• Interventions should focus on managing and clarifying student expectations before and during pre-registration programs.
• Improving the alignment of expectations is vital for enhancing nursing student retention.