[Factors Influencing Employment Intentions Among Final-Year Nursing Students: A Qualitative Study]

Nurses play a pivotal role in the healthcare system. Recent trends indicate final-year nursing students at junior colleges are less willing to enter clinical practice than their university counterparts, posing a potential threat to nursing workforce sustainability.

This study was designed to examine the factors of influence on employment intention in final-year nursing students enrolled at junior colleges.

A qualitative research method was used, and final-year nursing students were purposively sampled from a junior college in southern Taiwan. Data were collected using focus group interviews and analyzed using content analysis.

Six focus groups were conducted between March and December 2024 with a total of 58 participants. Four major themes related to barriers to joining clinical practice emerged, including (1) insufficient professional identity in nursing, (2) influence of educational background on career decision-making, (3) negative clinical internship experiences, and (4) perceived lack of workplace resources.

Based on the interview findings, with regard to final-year nursing students, professional identity significantly influences intention to pursue a career in nursing, academic background and clinical learning experience are critical in shaping professional confidence, and unsupportive workplace environments negatively influence motivation to enter clinical practice. Therefore, strengthening the adaptability and sense of professional accomplishment in these nurses, improving workplace environments, establishing seamless education-to-practice transition mechanisms, and promoting societal recognition of the nursing profession are all essential factors in sustaining the nursing workforce.