A cross-sectional study on preferred employment settings of final-year nursing students in Israel

Yael Sela, Keren Grinberg, Yair Shapiro, Rachel Nissanholtz-Gannot

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Despite the growing demand for community nurses, their number remains relatively low. We examined perceptions of final-year nursing students regarding their preferred work setting after graduation and the factors affecting their choice. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire was developed specifically for this study. The questionnaire was distributed among fourth-year students from all nursing training frameworks across Israel. Results: Of 281 respondents (76.6% women, average age, 29.3 years), most (80.9%) preferred working in hospitals, while 5% preferred community settings; 14% were undecided. Students' knowledge on hospital nurses' tasks was greater compared to their knowledge on community nurses' tasks. Moreover, hospital nurses' tasks were perceived as more important than those of community nurses. The contribution of clinical placement in hospital nursing was perceived as significantly more meaningful than the contribution of clinical placement in community nursing. The vast majority of students (94.3%) stated that they would prefer to undergo a hospital nursing internship. A significant correlation was noted between students' clinical placement, the exposure to community nursing roles, and the perception of the community nurse's role: clinical placements that were perceived as a positive experience led to a more positive perception of community nurses' roles. Conclusions: Nursing students' perception of community nursing is based upon limited information which does not reflect community nurses' actual role and work.

Original languageEnglish
Article number53
JournalHuman Resources for Health
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 31 Jul 2020
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Maccabi Institute for Health Services Research

    Keywords

    • Community care
    • Hospital
    • Nursing education
    • Nursing students

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