Attidutes of Hong Kong high school students towards the nursing profession

Joh Chin Rossiter, Andrew Foong, Po Tai Chan, John Bidewell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The increased development of hospital services in Hong Kong over the last decade has given rise in the demand for more recruits to join the nursing profession. Despite the advancement in education and the improvement in the working conditions, the problems of attracting sufficient new recruits remain critical. This study aimed to examine high school students' attitudes towards the nursing profession and to identify the contributing factors affecting shortage of nurses within the context of Hong Kong. A convenience sample of 375 high school students was recruited. A questionnaire was used to measure their knowledge, attitudes and intention to study nursing. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe their career preferences and to compare knowledge, attitudes and intention scales between gender and nursing exposure groups. Results indicated that the students were generally knowledgeable about nursing but were reluctant to pursue nursing as a career. However, students who were socially acquainted with a nurse demonstrated a slightly more positive attitude towards nursing and slightly higher intention to pursue nursing as a career compared with those having no social acquaintance with a nurse. Implications for promotion of nursing profession and limitations of the study were discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)464-471
Number of pages8
JournalNurse Education Today
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 1999
Externally publishedYes

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