Why do women choose nursing?

To answer the question, "Why do women choose nursing?", female nursing students were given an opportunity to speak "in their own voices" to reveal their needs, motivations, and expectations. In a study employing grounded theory methodology, 16 female nursing students were interviewed and audiotaped for initial constant comparison analysis. Further analyses employing coding, categorizing, comparing, and contrasting of data made it possible to isolate recurrent words and phrases, and to identify concepts for the purpose of theory building. Reliability was established by both stability analysis and reproducibility analysis. Validity was supported by construct (convergent and discriminant) and representational components. Not surprisingly, the construct of desiring to care for others was readily apparent. However, it was power and empowerment that emerged from the interviews as the most resounding and fully developed construct of the study. Students' references to practical motivations for choosing nursing were so notably scarce that their virtual omission constituted an important theme.