Perceived status of nurses compared to other health care professionals

The global shortage of nurses indicates that strategies must be in place to attract individuals to the profession. The purpose of this study was to explore the specific motivations/influences that encourage students to undertake a nursing career, their perceived status of nurses, their perceived goals as nurses and their future career pathways. The study involved a cross sectional approach using Ford's (1986) taxonomy of human goals as a theoretical framework. A questionnaire was administered to 126 nursing students enrolled in the first semester of a nursing degree and 80 students in the final semester. Results revealed the image of nurses continues to be influenced by the media. Findings also show how the perceived status of nurses, within a hospital and community setting differ compared to other health care workers. This result highlights the participants' lack of knowledge in regard to the role of professionals within the health care industry. Results have implications for nurse education (long and short term) in relation to the role of nurses.