Aseel Mohsen1, Irit Bluvstein2,3, Rachel Wilf Miron4,5, Ilya Kagan6. 1. Clinical Nursing Preceptor, Intensive Care Unit, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Hadera, Israel. 2. Department of Nursing, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 3. School of Psychological Sciences and the Herczeg Institute on Aging, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 4. Department of Health Promotion, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. 5. Technology Assessment and Policy Unit, Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Ramat Gan, Israel. 6. Nursing Department, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Abstract
AIMS: The aim of this study is to examine (a) public image of nursing and the intention to choose nursing as a future career and (b) the relationship between the public image, gender roles and the choice of the nursing career among Arab high school students. BACKGROUND: School graduates from the Arab sector represent an important social group with the potential to provide quality candidates for the nursing profession in Israel. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 138 high school students from two Arab schools in Israel completed a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: One third of the sample intended to choose nursing as a future career. Students from families with a higher level of paternal education and those exposed to the work of nurses perceived nursing as more positive. The profession's public image contributed to the explanation of 21% of the variance of the intention to choose a nursing career. CONCLUSION: A positive public image of nursing contributes to decisions about choosing a nursing career in the future among Arab high school students. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: School graduates may be influenced by providing information and presenting the role of a nurse as significant, as well as by emphasizing the positive image of nursing to parents and influential people in the Arab community.
AIMS: The aim of this study is to examine (a) public image of nursing and the intention to choose nursing as a future career and (b) the relationship between the public image, gender roles and the choice of the nursing career among Arab high school students. BACKGROUND: School graduates from the Arab sector represent an important social group with the potential to provide quality candidates for the nursing profession in Israel. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 138 high school students from two Arab schools in Israel completed a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: One third of the sample intended to choose nursing as a future career. Students from families with a higher level of paternal education and those exposed to the work of nurses perceived nursing as more positive. The profession's public image contributed to the explanation of 21% of the variance of the intention to choose a nursing career. CONCLUSION: A positive public image of nursing contributes to decisions about choosing a nursing career in the future among Arab high school students. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: School graduates may be influenced by providing information and presenting the role of a nurse as significant, as well as by emphasizing the positive image of nursing to parents and influential people in the Arab community.