Decision making and work loads as predictors of student nurses' health status

This study was conceived as a means of exploring the factors that could contribute to student nurses' burnout with their educational programs. Current literature mainly addresses this process in terms of the experience of registered nurses. This descriptive study sought to determine the relationships between nursing students' latitude in academic decision making and school work load demands and their effects on the students' health status. Thirty-four female, second-quarter senior nursing students completed a written tool, adapted from one developed by Karasek. Data analysis revealed that for this study, alterations in the nursing students' health status could be predicted from the independent variables, latitude in academic decision making, and school work load demand.