Nursing And Identify Factors Influencing Readiness For The Profession

Literature Review The purpose of this literature review is to garner information about nursing student’s perception of nursing and identify factors influencing readiness for the profession. Perception as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary (2010) is characterized by ones awareness and understanding of sensory information attained through interaction between past experiences and one’s own culture and interpretation of the perceived. Nursing students’ perception of nursing has been influenced greatly by various factors and these factors initiate readiness for the nursing profession. Apesoa-Varano (2007) states that nursing perception and professionalism is plethoric. Students enter the nursing programme with the belief that nursing evolve

According to Mason-Whitehead et al. (2009) today’s nursing school curriculum is designed in a way that places emphasis on caring concepts and description of psychological responses that influences interpersonal knowledge and skills. Ewen 2003, & Manninen 1998 assume that the perception of nursing students’ professional identity changes over the course of nursing programme. Cook et. al. (2003) states that during the course of the 4 year programme the perception of nursing students are developed from an altruistic view of the profession to a more biomedical and technological one. They further assert that the perceptions of students were influenced by stages of the educational programme and these stages include traditional view at entry and the influence of clinical experience until graduation. It is of utmost importance that the nursing programmes continue to aspire for change towards holistic caring, and the curriculum designed in a way to assist students nurses gain knowledge and experience that will promote nursing as a

Hospital wards have been the traditional clinical placement setting for nursing students. Newton, Jolly, Ockerby and Cross (2010) purports that practice in the clinical setting is a requirement to ensure fitness to practice as a nurse. From an educational view, clinical placement is the avenue where skills, knowledge and attitudes developed in the theoretical part of the curriculum are applied, developed and incorporated. Wang, Shang and Jin (2005) asserts that after visiting the clinical area for a week, nursing students begin to dislike the nursing profession however Holsem (2010) stated that the development of confidence during clinical experiences places emphasis on the openness about expectation, time of reflection and been welcome and appreciated. If these priorities are put it place nursing students clinical experience will be effective as they look forward to gain additional knowledge and skills to tackle the world of work but if this knowledge and skills are not garnered through effective clinical experience nursing students will fail to gain confidence and high levels of competency to venture into the world of