Perceptions of nursing as a career choice of students in the Baccalaureate nursing program.

Schools of nursing must recruit and retain qualified applicants in order to confront the current challenge to nursing resources. Perceptions of nursing have been linked to students' decisions to enter the nursing profession and to continue in or withdraw from nursing programs. As part of an on-going longitudinal study in Canada, the nursing attitude questionnaire and nursing orientation tool were used to explore the perceptions of nursing of 213 beginning and 150 graduating students in a Baccalaureate nursing program. Overall, both groups of students held a positive image of nursing. There were however, significant differences between the groups in their orientation to nursing as well as their views on nursing roles, education, political issues, and the value of nursing as a profession. Implications for recruitment of nursing students are presented.