Why not nursing? Factors influencing healthcare career choice among Singaporean students

Abstract

Strategies for nursing recruitment in Singapore must include creating more opportunities for exposure to nursing in early school years, reviewing the admission policies for nursing programmes to attract academically abled students, ensuring that nursing graduates' salaries are comparable with other healthcare graduates, promoting a better understanding on the role of a registered nurse and its career developments, and providing support for those who are interested in nursing but are faced with career decision-making difficulties due to their families.

Perception of nursing profession – focus group interview among applicants to nursing education

“…These results are partly contradictory with earlier studies where the perceptions of the nurse students have been stated idealistic and romantic when starting the education. On the other hand, the nature of nursing work has been stated unattractive among healthcare students and psychological distress caused by difficult work environments has been linked to younger nurses leaving the profession . Furthermore, possible negative perceptions might have an influence on recruitment of new generations to the field.…”

The development of Singapore nursing education system – challenges, opportunities and implications

“…Firstly, the diploma curriculum traditionally places a greater emphasis on practical skills than the acquisition of twentieth-first century skills, such as critical thinking and research capabilities, which can impede RNs from assuming wider professional responsibilities and autonomy (Institute of Medicine 2011). Secondly, the retention of RN preparatory at the diploma level reinforces the public image of nursing as a low skill job with limited decision-making abilities (Liaw et al 2016). Thirdly, Singapore's nursing education has not kept pace with the rest of the high-income countries, such as Australia and the UK, in establishing RN preparatory education at the baccalaureate level (Arunasalam 2016).…”

Singaporean nursing students' perceptions of a career in community nursing

“…Like the microsystem, a student's mesosystem also exerts direct influence on his/her career preference and perception of community nursing as a prospective career (Hickey et al ). Major factors within a student's proximate environment that affect their career intention include positive experiences, self‐determination, family and friends (Ky et al ; Liaw et al ). External to a student's experience, exosystem refers to the larger environment that does not involve him/her but nonetheless affects him/her indirectly (Hickey et al ).…”

“…External to a student's experience, exosystem refers to the larger environment that does not involve him/her but nonetheless affects him/her indirectly (Hickey et al ). Notably, career prospects, job prestige, job security and comparable remuneration were important considerations (Ky et al ; Liaw et al ; Wu et al ). There is a body of evidence in Western countries that substantiates nursing students' proclivity towards acute care nursing, specifically critical care, emergency nursing, paediatric nursing and midwifery (van Lersel et al ).…”