The attitudes of traditional and undergraduate nursing students towards nursing models: a comparative survey

The underpinning of nursing curricula with nursing models and their inclusion as part of the curriculum has increased dramatically in the last 10 years within the United Kingdom. However there is a dearth of research not only into how nursing students in general view these frameworks, but also into how students from different courses compare in their perception of them. In this study a questionnaire on attitudes to models was distributed to 20 second-year undergraduate (BSc Nursing) students and 20 third-year 'traditional' (RGN) students. Findings indicate that although both groups have a positive attitude overall towards nursing models, the traditional nursing students had a more positive perception than their undergraduate counterparts. In the discussion section possible explanations are put forward as to why these differences in attitudes exist.