Salamonson Yenna, Everett Bronwyn, Cooper Melissa, Lombardo Lien, Weaver Roslyn, Davidson Patricia M
University of Western Sydney, Family and Community Health Research Group (FaCH), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
Nurse Educ Today. 2014 Jan;34(1):127-31. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2012.10.009. Epub 2012 Nov 8.
Attrition from nursing programs is common, costly and burdensome to individuals, nursing faculties and the health care system. Increasingly, nursing faculties are requested to monitor attrition rates as a measure of performance, but little is known of the influence of career choice on program completion.
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of nursing as a first choice for study on attrition in a baccalaureate nursing program.
DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A longitudinal, cohort design was used in this study, which involved undergraduate nursing students enrolled at a university in Australia. Of the 357 participants who completed a baseline survey in 2004 at entry to their Bachelor of Nursing program, 352 were followed up over a six-year period to the end of 2009.
Students who selected nursing as their first choice for study were nearly twice as likely (OR: 1.99 95% CI: 1.07-3.68) to complete their nursing program compared to those who did not. These students were also more likely to be older (mean age: 26.8 vs 20.1years, P<0.001), and employed in nursing-related work (35% vs 2%, P<0.001). In addition, the study revealed that male students (OR: 1.93 95% CI: 1.07-3.46) and those who worked more than 16h per week during semester (OR: 1.80 95% CI: 1.09-2.99) were less likely to complete than their counterparts.
These data assist in generating realistic projections of completion and entry to the workforce. Understanding patterns of attrition and individuals' motivations to be a nurse is important not only for supporting nursing students to help them complete their studies but also for developing more targeted strategies directed toward student recruitment and retention.
护理专业课程的学生流失现象很常见，成本高昂，给个人、护理学院和医疗保健系统带来负担。护理学院越来越多地被要求监测流失率以衡量绩效，但对于职业选择对课程完成情况的影响却知之甚少。
本研究的目的是评估将护理作为首选专业对本科护理专业课程学生流失情况的影响。
设计、背景和参与者：本研究采用纵向队列设计，研究对象为澳大利亚一所大学的本科护理专业学生。2004年，357名参与者在进入护理专业本科课程时完成了基线调查，其中352人在截至2009年底的六年时间里接受了随访。
与未将护理作为首选专业的学生相比，选择护理作为首选专业的学生完成护理课程的可能性几乎高出一倍（比值比：1.99，95%置信区间：1.07 - 3.68）。这些学生年龄也更大（平均年龄：26.8岁对20.1岁，P<0.001），并且从事与护理相关工作的可能性更大（35%对2%，P<0.001）。此外，研究还表明，男生（比值比：1.93，95%置信区间：1.07 - 3.46）以及那些在学期期间每周工作超过16小时的学生（比值比：1.80，95%置信区间：1.09 - 2.99）完成课程的可能性低于其同龄人。
这些数据有助于对课程完成情况和进入劳动力市场的情况做出现实的预测。了解学生流失模式和个人成为护士的动机不仅对于支持护理专业学生完成学业很重要，而且对于制定更有针对性的招生和留校策略也很重要。
