The nursing profession is a cornerstone of healthcare, and understanding the determinants of students' career choices is essential for guiding recruitment and retention efforts. Identifying these factors enables educators and policymakers to align strategies with students' motivations and workforce needs. To examine the factors influencing career choice among undergraduate nursing students in Punjab, India. A descriptive, non-experimental design was used. A convenience sample of 120 undergraduate nursing students from Mai Bhago Institute of Nursing, Tarn Taran, Punjab, completed a demographic profile and a validated self-structured questionnaire. Career decisions were shaped by multiple factors: family support (45.8%), personal motivation and altruism (47.5%), job security (56.7%), and opportunities for professional growth (60.0%). Significant associations were observed between perceptions of nursing and student age (p = 0.001) and between family influence and father's education (p = 0.020), highlighting the role of socio-demographic background in shaping career perceptions. Career choice among nursing students reflects an interplay of familial, personal, and professional factors. Job stability, advancement prospects, and parental influence were particularly influential. These findings underscore the need for strengthened family engagement, early career guidance, and targeted policies to attract motivated individuals into nursing. Future research should explore rural–urban differences to develop context-specific strategies for workforce development.
Ekjot et al. (Wed,) studied this question.